- sink
- [[t]sɪ̱ŋk[/t]]
♦♦♦1) N-COUNT A sink is a large fixed container in a kitchen, with taps to supply water. It is mainly used for washing dishes.
The sink was full of dirty dishes.
...the kitchen sink.
2) N-COUNT A sink is the same as a or basin.The bathroom is furnished with 2 toilets, 2 showers, and 2 sinks.
3) V-ERG If a boat sinks or if someone or something sinks it, it disappears below the surface of a mass of water.[V n] In a naval battle your aim is to sink the enemy's ship...
The boat was beginning to sink fast...
[V-ing] The lifeboat crashed against the side of the sinking ship.
Derived words:sinking plural N-COUNT...the sinking of the Titanic.
4) VERB If something sinks, it disappears below the surface of a mass of water.A fresh egg will sink and an old egg will float.
Ant:5) VERB If something sinks, it moves slowly downwards.Far off to the west the sun was sinking...
When they came to build the southern spire the foundations began to sink.
6) VERB If you sink, you move into a lower position, for example by sitting down in a chair or kneeling. [WRITTEN][V adv/prep] Kate laughed, and sank down again to her seat...
[V adv/prep] She sank into an armchair and crossed her legs...
[V adv/prep] `Don't you understand?' I moaned, sinking dramatically to my knees.
7) VERB If something sinks to a lower level or standard, it falls to that level or standard.Share prices would have sunk - hurting small and big investors...
[V to/from/by amount/n] Pay increases have sunk to around seven per cent...
[V amount] The pound has sunk 10 per cent against the schilling.
Syn:8) VERB If your voice sinks, it becomes quieter. [WRITTEN]Her voice sank, and he moved closer to catch what she was saying...
[V to/into n] Her voice had sunk to a whisper.
Syn:9) VERB To sink into an unpleasant or undesirable mood, situation, or state means to pass gradually into it. [WRITTEN][V into n] She'd sometimes sink into depression...
[V into n] That night he sank into a deep coma...
[V into n] Bulgaria's economy has sunk into chaos.
10) VERB If your heart or your spirits sink, you become depressed or lose hope.My heart sank because I thought he was going to dump me for another girl...
Her spirits sank lower and lower.
11) V-ERG If something sharp sinks or is sunk into something solid, it goes deeply into it.[V n into n] He sinks the needle into my arm...
[V n into n] I sank my teeth into a peppermint cream...
[V into n] The spade sank into a clump of overgrown bushes.
12) VERB If someone sinks a well, mine, or other large hole, they make a deep hole in the ground, usually by digging or drilling.[V n] ...the site where Stephenson sank his first mineshaft...
[V n] If they carry on sinking boreholes then the land is likely to subside.
[V-ed] ...a one-thousand foot deep hole sunk into the rock.
13) VERB If you sink money into a business or project, you spend money on it in the hope of making more money.[V n into n] He has already sunk $25million into the project.
Syn:14) VERB If someone sinks a number of alcoholic drinks, they drink them quickly. [BRIT, INFORMAL][V n] She sank two glasses of white wine.
Syn:15) VERB In golf, snooker, and some other games, if you sink a ball or a putt, you successfully hit the ball into a hole.[V n] He sank two crucial putts in the last three holes.
16) → See also , sunk17) PHRASE If you say that someone will have to sink 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 sink or swim too quickly...
It was very much sink or swim.
Phrasal Verbs:- sink in
English dictionary. 2008.
