Definition Definition

sink - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'sink' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Sink [ n.]
- A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.
- A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.
- A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; -- called also sink hole.
2 . Sink [ v. i.]
- To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west.
- To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.
- Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.
- To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.
- To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
3 . Sink [ v. t.]
- To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.
- Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation.
- To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.; as, to sink a pit or a well; to sink a die.
- To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste.
- To conseal and appropriate.
- To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.
- To reduce or extinguish by payment; as, to sink the national debt.

Meaning of 'sink' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . sink [ n]
Meaning (1):
- (technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy or a substance from a system
Example in sentence:
  • the ocean is a sink for carbon dioxide
2 . sink [ v]
Meaning (2):
- embed deeply
Example in sentence:
  • He buried his head in her lap;
  • She sank her fingers into the soft sand
Meaning (3):
- descend into or as if into some soft substance or place
Example in sentence:
  • He sank into bed;
  • She subsided into the chair
Meaning (4):
- pass into a specified state or condition
Example in sentence:
  • He sank into nirvana
Meaning (5):
- fall or descend to a lower place or level
Example in sentence:
  • He sank to his knees
Meaning (6):
- fall or sink heavily
Example in sentence:
  • He slumped onto the couch;
  • My spirits sank
Meaning (7):
- cause to sink
Example in sentence:
  • The Japanese sank American ships in Pearl Harbor
Meaning (8):
- go under
Example in sentence:
  • The raft sank and its occupants drowned
Meaning (9):
- fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly
Example in sentence:
  • The real estate market fell off
Meaning (10):
- appear to move downward
Example in sentence:
  • The setting sun sank below the tree line;
  • The sun dipped below the horizon