sink

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Descend into or as if into some soft substance or place.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

singk

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsɪŋk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

ergative
Descend into or as if into some soft substance or place
ergative
To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance.
headingphysical
To move or be moved into something.
transitive
To (directly or indirectly) cause a vessel to sink, generally by making it no longer watertight.
intransitivefigurativelyof the heart or spirit
To experience apprehension, disappointment, dread, or momentary depression.
intransitive
To demean or lower oneself; to do something below one's status, standards, or morals.

noun

Plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe
A basin used for holding water for washing.
A depression in land where water collects, with no visible outlet.
A place that absorbs resources or energy.
uncountable
Descending motion; descent.
An abode of degraded persons; a wretched place.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Descend into or as if into some soft substance or place

Used this way, sink is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

kitchen sinkheat sinksink backsink below

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

pass
To change place.
bury
To place in the ground.
dip
To perform the action of plunging a dipper, ladle. etc. into a liquid or soft substance and removing a part.
go down
To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

sinkingnounInflected form
A descent as through liquid (especially through water).

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

sink inverbCompound term
Become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions.
sinking feelingnounCompound term
A feeling caused by uneasiness or apprehension.
sinking fundnounCompound term
A fund accumulated regularly in a separate account and used to redeem debt securities.
sinking spellnounCompound term
A temporary decline in health or value.
hook line and sinkeradverbCompound term
In every detail.
heat sinknounCompound term
A metal conductor specially designed to conduct (and radiate) heat.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: descend into or as if into some soft substance

settle

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.