absorb meaning
absorb :
to take in liquid or other substance
Verb
▪ The sponge will absorb the spilled water.
▪ The sponge will take in the spilled water.
▪ She needs time to absorb the new information.
▪ She needs time to fully understand the new information.
paraphrasing
▪ soak – to take in liquid
▪ comprehend – to understand fully
▪ take in – to absorb information
▪ assimilate – to fully understand
Pronunciation
absorb [əbˈzɔːrb]
The stress is on the second part 'zorb' and sounds like 'ab-zorb'.
Common phrases and grammar about absorb
absorb - Common meaning
Verb
to take in liquid or other substance
Part of Speech Changes for "absorb"
▪ absorption (noun) – the process of taking in liquid or information
▪ absorbent (adjective) – able to take in liquid
▪ absorbed (adjective) – fully involved or interested
▪ absorbing (adjective) – very interesting
Common Expressions with "absorb"
▪ absorb liquid – to take in a liquid
▪ absorb information – to understand information fully
▪ absorb shock – to take in shock and reduce impact
▪ absorb costs – to take on costs
Important examples of absorb in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, absorb is often used to describe taking in liquids or information.
Example of a confusing word: adsorb (to accumulate on a surface)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
As a verb, absorb can be used transitively to take in objects or intransitively to describe the action itself.
absorb
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
absorb the costs
'take on the expenses', used when a company covers expenses.
drink from a firehose
means 'to receive too much information at once'.
Differences between similar words and absorb
absorb
,
soak
differences
Absorb means to take in liquid or information fully, while soak means to immerse in liquid.
absorb
,
immerse
differences
Absorb means to take in something, while immerse means to dip completely in liquid.
Words with the same origin as absorb
The origin of absorb
The word 'absorb' comes from the Latin 'absorbere', meaning 'to suck in'.
Word structure
It has the prefix ab (away) and the root sorb (to suck), so absorb means 'to suck away'.
Words with the same origin
The root of absorb is sorb (to suck). Words with the same root include sorption (the process of absorbing).
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