absorb
absorb — verb
1. When a material absorbs water, air, sound, heat, or light, it draws that substan
When a material absorbs water, air, sound, heat, or light, it draws that substance into itself and holds it inside, often happening slowly over time.
Dry sponges absorb water faster than wet ones.
transitive: absorb + liquid noun
Plant roots absorb minerals from the wet soil around them.
subject: a natural body part or surface
Black clothes absorb sunlight, so Mei felt hot during the picnic.
Thick curtains help absorb noise from the busy street outside.
The cotton bandage quickly absorbed the blood from Daniel's cut finger.
文法句型
absorb + noun (liquid/gas/energy)
用法筆記
Subject is usually a porous material, surface, or living tissue; object is a substance or form of energy. Distinguish from sense 3 (UNDERSTAND), where the object is information rather than a physical substance.
常見錯誤
2. If a material or structure absorbs a force, blow, or sudden change, it takes the
If a material or structure absorbs a force, blow, or sudden change, it takes the hit and softens its strength so that less of it is passed on to whatever is behind.
Modern running shoes absorb most of the shock when your foot hits the ground.
absorb + shock/impact
The thick rubber mat absorbed Liam's fall from the climbing frame.
Car bumpers are designed to absorb the force of small crashes.
Tree roots help absorb heavy rain and stop the hillside from sliding.
The boxer raised his arms to absorb the punch on his elbows.
- transmit
to pass the force through to something else
文法句型
absorb + noun (force/shock/blow)
用法筆記
Object is usually a physical force word (shock, impact, blow, force, vibrations) rather than a substance. Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 1 takes things in and keeps them; sense 2 weakens an incoming force.
3. To take new information or ideas into your mind, fully understand them, and keep
To take new information or ideas into your mind, fully understand them, and keep them in your memory long after you first met them.
Young children absorb new languages much more easily than adults do.
absorb + abstract noun (knowledge)
Sofia paused the video so she could absorb the teacher's explanation.
It took Mr. Chen a few days to absorb the news that his factory would close.
Good students absorb the main ideas of a lesson before worrying about details.
The young pianist absorbed every comment her teacher made during the lesson.
- forget
to lose information from memory
文法句型
absorb + noun (information/lesson)
用法筆記
Object must be something mental — information, knowledge, ideas, lessons, news. The verb suggests not just hearing or reading something but making it part of what you know.
常見錯誤
4. If an activity or piece of work absorbs you, it interests you so deeply that you
If an activity or piece of work absorbs you, it interests you so deeply that you give all your attention to it and stop noticing what else is happening.
The mystery novel absorbed Hannah for the whole train journey to Kyoto.
active: thing + absorb + person
Nikolai was so absorbed in his video game that he didn't hear the doorbell.
passive: be absorbed in + activity
Painting absorbs Grandma Rosa for hours every Sunday afternoon.
The chess match absorbed every player in the room.
Lila became completely absorbed in writing her first short story.
- bore
to make someone lose interest
文法句型
be absorbed in + noun
absorb + someone
用法筆記
Most often used as the passive 'be/become absorbed in [activity]' to describe the person. The active form ('the book absorbs me') is also common but slightly more literary.
常見錯誤
5. When a company or government absorbs a cost, loss, or new tax, it pays that amou
When a company or government absorbs a cost, loss, or new tax, it pays that amount itself instead of passing it on to customers or other people, often because it can afford to.
The supermarket chain decided to absorb the higher fuel costs rather than raise prices.
absorb + cost/expense
Smaller airlines often cannot absorb sudden losses in ticket sales.
subject: a company/institution
The publisher will absorb the printing fees for this charity book.
The city government agreed to absorb the cost of repairing the flooded park.
Big banks can absorb a small rise in taxes without changing customer fees.
- pass on
to make customers pay the cost instead
文法句型
absorb + noun (cost/loss/tax)
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a business, institution, or government. Object is a financial burden (cost, loss, tax, fee, expense). The implication is that the payer chooses to carry the cost instead of moving it on.
6. When a larger group, organization, or country absorbs a smaller one, it brings t
When a larger group, organization, or country absorbs a smaller one, it brings the smaller one inside itself so that the two stop being separate and act as one.
In 1990, East Germany was absorbed into the larger West German state.
passive: be absorbed into + larger entity
The big tech firm absorbed three smaller startups in a single year.
active: large absorbs small
Over time, the small fishing village was absorbed into the growing city of Tainan.
The new department will absorb the old marketing and sales teams.
Roman generals absorbed defeated tribes into their own army.
- incorporate
more formal; common for companies and laws
- swallow up
informal; sometimes negative
- merge with
implies more equal partners
- split off
to break away from the larger group
文法句型
absorb + noun (smaller body)
be absorbed into + larger body
用法筆記
Often passive: 'be absorbed into [larger body]'. Subject and object are usually groups, organizations, regions, or populations rather than individuals.
7. If a project or activity absorbs a large amount of time, money, or other resourc
If a project or activity absorbs a large amount of time, money, or other resources, it takes up most of what is available, leaving little for anything else.
The new bridge project absorbed nearly half of the city's yearly budget.
absorb + amount of money
Caring for her sick father absorbed most of Yuki's free time last summer.
absorb + time
Training the new staff absorbed weeks of the manager's energy.
The lawsuit absorbed huge amounts of money from the small company.
Writing the report absorbed every spare hour Daniel had that month.
- save
to keep resources for later use
文法句型
absorb + noun (time/money/resources)
用法筆記
Object is usually a quantity word (time, money, resources, energy, budget). Slightly formal; in everyday speech 'eat up' or 'take up' is more common. Distinguish from sense 5 — sense 5 is about paying a cost, sense 7 is about consuming a resource over time.