Sink Meaning
/ˈsɪŋk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo move or be moved into something.
verbTo move or be moved into something., To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance.
Sentence Examples
The situation has come to the point where we either sink or swim.
The ship set sail only to sink two days later.
She poured the dark brown liquid down the sink.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy stone dropped into the water and began to ____ to the bottom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please put your dirty dishes in the kitchen ____ after you finish your meal.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English synken, from Old English sincan, from Proto-West Germanic *sinkwan, from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷ- (“to fall, sink”). Compare West Frisian sinke, Low German sinken, Dutch zinken, German sinken, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synke, Swedish sjunka. In the causative sense, it replaced Old English senċan (“make sink”) from Proto-Germanic *sankwijaną.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Before installing the new surfacing material, sink any protruding nails."
— 1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 11:
"I have to take the turn, sink hooks and nails so I'll return
And it could get me every time, but I must taste fire
Infectious is the flame that burns"
— 2014 May 9, “Melting of My Marrow”, in Killer Be Killed, performed by Killer Be Killed:
"As was the case with the City & South London, powers were taken to sink shafts from temporary staging in the river, about 240 ft. from the south bank, from which to begin boring the tunnels, and the first pile for the staging was driven on June 18, 1894."
— 1958 August 26, T. S. Lascelles, “Diamond Jubilee of the Waterloo & City Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 518:
"My sister beats me at pool in public a second time. I claim some dignity back by potting two of my balls before Tammy sinks the black."
— 2008, Edward Keating, The Joy of Ex: A Novel:
"But open converse is there none,
So much the vital spirits sink
To see the vacant chair, and think,
‘How good! how kind! and he is gone.’"
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 34:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy stone dropped into the water and began to ____ to the bottom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please put your dirty dishes in the kitchen ____ after you finish your meal.