sink1
verb (past sank; past part. sunk) 1 become submerged in liquid. 2 (with reference to a ship) go or cause to go to the bottom of the sea. 3 disappear and not be seen or heard of again. 4 drop downwards. 5 lower oneself or drop down gently. 6 (sink in) become fully understood. 7 insert beneath a surface. 8 (sink into) cause (something sharp) to penetrate (a surface). 9 gradually decrease or decline in amount or intensity. pass or fall into a particular state or condition: she sank into sleep. (sink in/into) put (money or energy) into. PHRASES a sinking feeling an unpleasant bodily sensation caused by apprehension or dismay. sink or swim fail or succeed by ones own efforts. ORIGIN Old English.
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