əbˈsȯ(ə)rb, -ˈz-, -ȯ(ə)b also ab- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle French absorber, from Latin absorbēre, from ab- ab- (I) + sorbēre to suck up, swallow; akin to Greek rhophein to sup up, Middle Irish srub snout, Lithuanian srė̃bti to sip, and perhaps to Middle High German sürpfeln to sip, Norwegian slurpe
1. archaic : to swallow up : engulf
absorbed by oblivion
2. : assimilate , incorporate
the power of Chinese civilization to absorb new arrivals — G.W.Johnson
3.
a. : to suck up : take up by various means (as by capillary, osmotic, solvent, or chemical action)
water absorbed by plant roots
absorb ammonia gas in water
— distinguished from adsorb
b. : to take in : imbibe
convictions absorbed in youth — M.R.Cohen
the prudential morality he had absorbed from Puritanism — R.H.Gabriel
4. : to engage wholly
absorbed in thoughts of poetry — E.W.H.Lumsden
: occupy fully
work absorbs most of his time
5.
a. : to receive the impact of or undergo the shock of without recoil
absorb the vibration of machinery
capable of absorbing punishment
b. : to receive without repercussion or echo
walls lined with material that absorbs sound
c. : to transform (radiant energy) into a different form usually with a resulting rise of temperature (as when the earth receives energy from the sun)
neutrons absorbed by cadmium rods
6.
a. : to take up by purchase
the business being absorbed by a competitor
the market absorbed the entire production
b. : to take over (a cost)
traveling expenses absorbed by the employer
Synonyms: see monopolize