Sunk,
Definition: imp. & p. p. of Sink. Sunk fence, a ditch with a retaining wall, used to divide lands without defacing a landscape; a ha-ha.
Sink, v. i. [imp. Sunk, or (Sank (); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.] Etym: [OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. sökkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.]
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, v. t.
1. To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid; as, to sink a ship. [The Athenians] fell upon the wings and sank a single ship. Jowett (Thucyd.).
2. Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation. I raise of sink, imprison or set free. Prior. If I have a conscience, let it sink me. Shak. Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power Has sunk thy father more than all his years. Rowe.
3. To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.; as, to sink a pit or a well; to sink a die.
4. To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste. You sunk the river repeated draughts. Addison.
5. To conseal and appropriate. [Slang] If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account. Swift.
6. To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore. A courtly willingness to sink obnoxious truths. Robertson.
7. To reduce or extinguish by payment; as, to sink the national debt.
Sink, n.
1. A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.
2. A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.
3. A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; -- called also sink hole. [U. S.] Sink hole. (a) The opening to a sink drain. (b) A cesspool. (c) Same as Sink, n., 3.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
19 April 2025
(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
