Sink v. i. [imp. Sunk or (Sank ); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.]
1. To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west.
I sink in deep mire. --Ps. lxix. 2.
2. To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.
The stone sunk into his forehead. --1 San. xvii. 49.
3. Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.
Let these sayings sink down into your ears. --Luke ix. 44.
4. To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. --Shak.
He sunk down in his chariot. --2 Kings ix. 24.
Let not the fire sink or slacken. --Mortimer.
5. To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him. --Addison.
Syn: -- To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen.
sink
n 1: plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall
or floor and having a drainpipe
2: (technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy
or a substance from a system; "the ocean is a sink for
carbon dioxide" [ant: source]
3: a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean
passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution
or by collapse of a cavern roof [syn: sinkhole, swallow
hole]
4: a covered cistern; waste water and sewage flow into it [syn:
cesspool, cesspit, sump]
v 1: fall or drop to a lower place or level; "He sank to his
knees" [syn: drop, drop down]
2: cause to sink; "The Japanese sank American ships in Pearl
Harbor"
3: pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into
Nirvana" [syn: pass, lapse]
4: go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned" [syn: settle,
go down, go under] [ant: float]
5: descend into or as if into some soft substance or place; "He
sank into bed"; "She subsided into the chair" [syn: subside]
6: appear to move downward; "The sun dipped below the horizon";
"The setting sun sank below the tree line" [syn: dip]
7: fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly; "The real estate
market fell off" [syn: slump, fall off]
8: fall or sink heavily; "He slumped onto the couch"; "My
spirits sank" [syn: slump, slide down]
9: embed deeply; "She sank her fingers into the soft sand"; "He
buried his head in her lap" [syn: bury]
[also: sunken, sunk, sank]