absorb

Etymology

From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- (“from”) + sorbeō (“suck in, swallow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber.

verb

1. (transitive) To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.
   Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all. 1782, William Cowper, On Observing some Names of Little Note
2. (transitive, obsolete) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.
   to be absorpt, or swallowed up, in a lake of fire and brimstone. 1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth
3. (transitive) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.
   Wages absorbed 80% of the total revenue (which was inescapable), and they were rising at almost twice the rate of fares, which were pegged by law. March 8 2023, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 51
4. (intransitive) To be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.
   The drops of water slowly absorbed into the dry sponge.
5. (transitive, physics, chemistry) To take in energy and convert it.
   1. (transitive, physics) in receiving a physical impact or vibration without recoil.
   2. (transitive, physics) in receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.
   3. (transitive, physics) taking in radiant energy and converting it to a different form of energy, like heat.
6. (transitive) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.
   Livonian affairs held him tight, and were to absorb him for many a year. 1904, Kazimierz Waliszewski, translated by Lady Mary Loyd, Ivan the Terrible, Part 2 Chapter 3
7. (transitive) To occupy or consume time.
8. (transitive) To assimilate mentally.
   If we fail to absorb the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them.
9. (transitive, business) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.
   Among the most debatable is the contention that the profit margins of small employers are insufficient to absorb the costs of health insurance 2006, Gunnar Almgren, Health Care Politics, Policy, and Services: A Social Justice Analysis
10. (transitive) To defray the costs.
    I’ll absorb the charge for the window replacement
11. (transitive) To accept or purchase in quantity.