(~s, ~ing, sank, sunk)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a large fixed container in a kitchen, with taps to supply water. It is mainly used for washing dishes.
The ~ was full of dirty dishes.
...the kitchen ~.
N-COUNT
2.
A ~ is the same as a washbasin or basin .
The bathroom is furnished with 2 toilets, 2 showers, and 2 ~s.
N-COUNT
3.
If a boat ~s or if someone or something ~s it, it disappears below the surface of a mass of water.
In a naval battle your aim is to ~ the enemy’s ship...
The boat was beginning to ~ fast...
The lifeboat crashed against the side of the ~ing ship.
VERB: V n, V, V-ing
~ing (~ings)
...the ~ing of the Titanic.
N-COUNT
4.
If something ~s, it disappears below the surface of a mass of water.
A fresh egg will ~ and an old egg will float.
? float
VERB: V
5.
If something ~s, it moves slowly downwards.
Far off to the west the sun was ~ing...
VERB: V
6.
If something ~s to a lower level or standard, it falls to that level or standard.
Share prices would have sunk–hurting small and big investors...
Pay increases have sunk to around seven per cent...
The pound had sunk 10 per cent against the Schilling.
= fall
VERB: V, V to/from/by amount/n, V amount
7.
People use ~ school or ~ estate to refer to a school or housing estate that is in a very poor area with few resources. (BRIT JOURNALISM)
...unemployed teenagers from ~ estates...
ADJ: ADJ n
8.
If your heart or your spirits ~, you become depressed or lose hope.
My heart sank because I thought he was going to dump me for another girl...
VERB: V
9.
If something sharp ~s or is sunk into something solid, it goes deeply into it.
I sank my teeth into a peppermint cream...
The spade sank into a clump of overgrown bushes.
VERB: V n into n, V into n
10.
If someone ~s a well, mine, or other large hole, they make a deep hole in the ground, usually by digging or drilling.
...the site where Stephenson sank his first mineshaft...
VERB: V n
11.
If you ~ money into a business or project, you spend money on it in the hope of making more money.
He has already sunk $25million into the project.
= plough
VERB: V n into n
12.
see also ~ing , sunk
13.
If you say that someone will have to ~ or swim, you mean that they will have to succeed through their own efforts, or fail.
The government doesn’t want to force inefficient firms to ~ or swim too quickly...
to ~ without trace: see trace
PHRASE