sink

/siɳk/

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Thân thiện

A child washes their hands in the sink.

Definition

Noun:
- A fixed basin with a water supply and drain: A "sink" is a plumbing fixture, typically in a kitchen or bathroom, used for washing.
- A place where something is absorbed or disappears: In a technical or figurative sense, a "sink" is a process or place that collects or absorbs something, such as heat, carbon, or resources.
- A depression or hollow in the land: A natural or artificial hollow area, often where water collects or the ground has subsided.
Verb:
- To go down below the surface of a liquid: To descend, especially below water or another fluid.
- To move to a lower level or position: To fall, drop, or descend gradually.
- To decrease in amount, value, or intensity: To decline or diminish.
- To cause something to go down or under: To make something descend or submerge.
- To embed or become embedded: To push or go deeply into something soft.
- To pass into a specific state or condition: To enter a particular state, often a negative or inactive one.

Examples of Usage

Noun:
- She washed the dishes in the kitchen sink.
- The ocean is a major carbon sink, absorbing large amounts of CO2.
- A sinkhole, or sink, formed suddenly in the road.
Verb:
- The ship began to sink after hitting the iceberg.
- The sun sinks below the horizon in the evening.
- His spirits sank when he heard the bad news.
- They tried to sink the enemy battleship with torpedoes.
- He sank his hands deep into the warm sand.
- After the long journey, she sank into a deep sleep.

Advanced Usage

"to sink in": To be fully understood or absorbed.
- The news of his resignation took a moment to sink in.
"to sink one's teeth into": To become deeply involved in or enthusiastic about something.
- He was eager to sink his teeth into the new project.
"to sink without a trace": To disappear completely and be forgotten.
- The controversial policy sank without a trace after the election.

Variants and Related Words

Sinkable (adj): Capable of being sunk.
- The old wooden boat was highly sinkable.
Sinker (n): A weight used to sink a fishing line; or, in baseball, a type of pitch that drops sharply.
- He attached a heavy sinker to his fishing line.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

Sink down: To lower oneself, often wearily.
- Exhausted, he sank down onto the sofa.
Sink back: To move back into a resting position.
- She sank back into the comfortable armchair.

Related Idioms

Sink or swim: To fail or succeed entirely by one's own efforts.
- On his first day, they gave him the project with no help—it was sink or swim.
Everything but the kitchen sink: Almost everything imaginable, often implying excessive items.
- They packed everything but the kitchen sink for their weekend trip.
A sinking feeling: A feeling of despair or dread.
- I had a sinking feeling that I had forgotten my passport.

A child washes their hands in the sink.

Noun

a covered cistern; waste water and sewage flow into it
a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof
(technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy or a substance from a system
- the ocean is a sink for carbon dioxide
plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe

Verb

embed deeply
- She sank her fingers into the soft sand
- He buried his head in her lap
fall or sink heavily
- He slumped onto the couch
- My spirits sank
fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly
- The real estate market fell off
appear to move downward
- The sun dipped below the horizon
- The setting sun sank below the tree line
descend into or as if into some soft substance or place
- He sank into bed
- She subsided into the chair
go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned"
pass into a specified state or condition
- He sank into nirvana
cause to sink
- The Japanese sank American ships in Pearl Harbor
fall or descend to a lower place or level
- He sank to his knees

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