• Soak

    Pronunciation

    • British enPR: sōk, IPA: /səʊk/
    • Rhymes: -əʊk
    • US enPR: sōk, IPA: /soÊŠk/
    • Rhymes: -oÊŠk
    • Homophones: soke

    Origin

    From Middle English soken, from Old English socian ("to soak, steep", literally to cause to suck (up)), from Proto-Germanic *sukōną ("to soak"), causative of Proto-Germanic *sūkaną ("to suck"). Cognate with Middle Dutch soken ("to cause to suck"). More at suck.

    Full definition of soak

    Verb

    1. (intransitive) To be saturated with liquid by being immersed in it.
      I'm going to soak in the bath for a couple of hours.
      • Bible, Isaiah xxiv. 7Their land shall be soaked with blood.
    2. (transitive) To immerse in liquid to the point of saturation or thorough permeation.
      Soak the beans overnight before cooking.
    3. (intransitive) To penetrate or permeate by saturation.
      The water soaked into my shoes and gave me wet feet.
      • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)The rivulet beneath soaked its way obscurely through wreaths of snow.
    4. (transitive) To allow (especially a liquid) to be absorbed; to take in, receive. (usually + up)
      A sponge soaks up water; the skin soaks in moisture.
      I soaked up all the knowledge I could at university.
      • 1927, F. E. Penny, Pulling the Strings Chapter 4, The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.
    5. (slang, dated) To drink intemperately or gluttonously.
    6. (metallurgy) To heat a metal before shaping it.
    7. (ceramics, ) To hold a kiln at a particular temperature for a given period of time.
      We should soak the kiln at cone 9 for half an hour.
    8. (figurative) To absorb; to drain.

    Noun

    soak

    (plural soaks)
    1. An immersion in water etc.
      • "After the climb, I had a nice long soak in a bath."
    2. (slang, British) A drunkard.
    3. (Australia) A low-lying depression that fills with water after rain.
      • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber 2003, p. 38:I set off early to walk along the Melbourne Road where, one of the punters had told me, there was a soak with plenty of frogs in it.

    Anagrams

    © Wiktionary
    • © 2013 - 2023 All Rights Reserved