I. ˈsōk verb
( soaked ; soaked -kt ; also soak·en -kən ; soaking ; soaks )
Etymology: Middle English soken, from Old English socian; akin to Old English sūcan to suck — more at suck
intransitive verb
1. : to remain steeping in water or other liquid : to become saturated or softened by immersion
let the beans soak overnight
put the clothes to soak
likes to get in the tub and soak
2.
a. : to enter or pass through something by or as if by pores or interstices : percolate , permeate — often used with into
rain soaks into the ground
blood soaking through the bandage
the porous quality of the brick into which the light seemed to soak as if absorbed — Herbert Read
the warmth soaked into his legs — Oliver La Farge
dawn was soaking into the sky over the tops of the trees — R.H.Newman
b. : to penetrate or affect the mind or feelings — usually used with in or into
waited for the remark to soak in — O.S.J.Gogarty
will let it soak into my subconscious — W.H.Upson
the idea of web defense soaking into troops — Tom Wintringham
3. : to drink alcoholic beverages intemperately or gluttonously
soaking all night at the bar
4. : to remain for a considerable time under heat treatment — used especially of a metal in annealing
transitive verb
1. : to permeate so as to wet, soften, or fill thoroughly : saturate
the meteorologist watched the solid drenching sheets soak the ground — Hilbert Schenck
unable to fire a shot because of soaked cartridges and drowned powder horns — F.V.W.Mason
two entire annual layers had been soaked by the summer meltwater — Valter Schytt
the house … made of sun- soaked red brick — Edith Sitwell
an atmosphere soaked with insatiable interest in international law — G.F.Renier
2.
a. : to place (something) in a liquid or other surrounding element to wet or as if to wet thoroughly : submerge , steep
soak the clothes before washing
soak the negatives in an acid solution
bread soaked in milk — Agnes Repplier
soaked overnight in vinegar and olive oil — American Guide Series: Louisiana
soaked himself in the sunshine — Archibald Marshall
his irony … was soaked in vitriol — Max Lerner
a drama soaked … in blood and rape — Leslie Rees
books soaked in sentiment — Hubert Herring
soaked himself in booze — V.P.Hass
b. : to engross the full attention of (a person) in deep and extensive study : imbue fully : immerse
soak yourself in art
start right off not only to expose yourself to, but to soak yourself in, those fields of knowledge — Bennett Cerf
soak himself in American history — Nieman Reports
until recently nearly all writers have been soaked in classical and renaissance literature — A.N.Whitehead
3.
a. : to drain or cleanse by washing or absorbing — usually used with out
soak the dirt out of the clothes
apply a poultice to soak out the poison
b.
(1) obsolete : to exhaust or make poor by emptying or removing
all plants that do draw much nourishment from the earth, and so soak the earth, and exhaust it — Francis Bacon
(2) : to levy an exorbitant or unreasonable charge against (a person or business concern)
neither the newspaper nor its millionaire executives were ever soaked very hard by the tax collectors — D.D.McKean
soak the rich
soaking the tourist is a popular … sport — A.T.Steele
4.
a. : to draw in by or as if by suction or absorption
down the coast bathers cavorted and soaked sun — Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican
— usually used with up
plaster walls soaked up the rain — Virginia D. Dawson & Betty D. Wilson
partitions soak up sound — advt
inserting the bar to a length that soaks up enough neutrons — Leon Svirsky
soaked up the sunshine — Nelson Glueck
electronics is soaking up much of the surplus labor and plant space — R.B.Cole
traveled … to soak up the atmosphere there — Walter Sullivan
philosophizing about the law does not amount to much until one has soaked in the details — O.W.Holmes †1935
b. : to intoxicate (oneself) by drinking alcoholic beverages
coming home half soaked, he can hardly climb the stairs
5. : to bake (bread) thoroughly
6. : to beat or punish severely
the jury comes in loaded to soak an anarchist and a foreigner — Maxwell Anderson
7. : to subject (as a metal) to prolonged heat treatment
8. : to charge (a storage battery) at a low rate
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act or process of soaking : the state of being soaked
might as well put them in soak tonight — Ellen Glasgow
b. : the liquid in which something is soaked : steep 2: as
(1) : a bath for softening dry hides
(2) : an often hot medicated solution with or in which a body part is soaked usually long or repeatedly especially to promote healing, relieve pain, or stimulate local circulation
2. Australia
a. : wet land lying especially at the foot of a hill
b. : a temporary swamp caused by overflowing surface water
c. : spring
3.
a. : one who is under the influence of alcohol during most of his waking hours : drunkard
a real soak … he hasn't drawn a sober breath in years — Hamilton Basso
b. : an extended period of hard drinking : spree
succumbed to a long and legitimate soak … to pickle his sorrows — Audrey Barker
4. slang : pawn I 2
got a job, but my bed's in soak — E.C.Abbott & Helena Smith