sink

sink¹ W3 [sıŋk] v past tense sank [sæŋk] past participle sunk [sʌŋk]

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1¦(in water)¦

2¦(boat)¦

3¦(move lower)¦

4¦(fall/sit down)¦

5¦(get worse)¦

6 your heart sinks

7¦(lower amount/value)¦

8¦(voice)¦

9 sinking feeling

10 be sunk

11 sink without trace

12 sink so low

13¦(use something sharp)¦

14¦(dig into ground)¦

15 sink or swim

16¦(money)¦

17¦(ball)¦

18 sink your differences

19¦(drink)¦

Phrasal verbs

　sink in

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[: Old English; Origin: sincan]

1.) ¦(IN WATER)¦

to go down below the surface of water, mud etc

≠ ↑float

▪ Their motorboat struck a rock and began to sink.

▪ The kids watched as the coin sank to the bottom of the pool.

▪ The heavy guns sank up to their barrels in the mud.

2.) ¦(BOAT)¦ [T]

to damage a ship so badly that it sinks

▪ A luxury yacht was sunk in a bomb attack yesterday.

3.) ¦(MOVE LOWER)¦ [I]

to move downwards to a lower level

▪ The sun was sinking behind the coconut palms.

▪ Her chin sank onto her chest, and she looked despairing.

4.) ¦(FALL/SIT DOWN)¦ [I]

to fall down or sit down heavily, especially because you are very tired and weak

sink into/to/down/back etc

▪ She let out a groan and sank into a chair.

▪ He let go of her shoulders and she sank at once to the floor.

▪ Marion sank down on a rock, and wept.

▪ The minister sank to his knees (=he went down into a kneeling position) and prayed.

5.) ¦(GET WORSE)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

to gradually get into a worse condition

sink into

▪ They lost all their money and sank into desperate poverty.

▪ The good mood left me and I sank into depression.

▪ The doctor said that the boy was sinking fast (=getting weaker and about to die) .

6.) your heart sinks [i]also your spirits sink

used to say that you lose hope or confidence

▪ His heart sank the way it always did when she left him.

▪ She felt desperately tired, and her spirits sank.

7.) ¦(LOWER AMOUNT/VALUE)¦

to go down in amount or value

= ↑drop

≠ ↑rise

▪ Shares in the company have sunk as low as 620p.

sink to

▪ The population of the village sank to just a few families.

8.) ¦(VOICE)¦ [I]

[i]written if your voice sinks, it becomes very quiet

sink to/into

▪ Her voice sank to a whisper.

9.) sinking feeling informal

the unpleasant feeling that you get when you suddenly realize that something bad is going to happen

▪ I had a sinking feeling inside as I realized I was going to fail yet again.

10.) be sunk

spoken to be in a situation where you are certain to fail or have a lot of problems

▪ If I don't get paid by next week, I'll really be sunk.

11.) sink without trace

especially BrE also sink like a stone especially AmE

if something sinks without trace, it fails quickly or no one pays attention to it

▪ He made a few records which all sank without trace.

12.) sink so low also sink to doing sth

to be dishonest enough or ↑selfish enough to do something very bad or unfair

= ↑stoop

▪ How could he have sunk so low?

13.) ¦(USE SOMETHING SHARP)¦ [T]

to put your teeth or something sharp into someone's flesh, into food etc

sink sth into sth

▪ The dog sank its teeth into my arm.

▪ She sank her fork into the pie.

14.) ¦(DIG INTO GROUND)¦ [T]

if you sink something such as a well or part of a building, you dig a hole to put it into the ground

▪ A well was sunk in the back garden, and water could be pumped up into the kitchen.

15.) sink or swim

to succeed or fail without help from anyone else

▪ They don't give you a lot of guidance - you're just left to sink or swim, really.

16.) ¦(MONEY)¦ [T]

to spend a lot of money on something

sink sth in/into sth

▪ They sank their entire savings into their house.

17.) ¦(BALL)¦ [T]

to put a ball into a hole or ↑basket in games such as ↑golf or ↑basketball

18.) sink your differences

BrE to agree to stop arguing and forget about your disagreements, especially in order to unite and oppose someone else

▪ Nations must sink their differences to achieve greater security.

19.) ¦(DRINK)¦ [T]

BrE informal to drink alcohol, especially in large quantities

▪ We sank a few pints at the pub first.

sink in phr v

if information, facts etc sink in, you gradually understand them or realize their full meaning

▪ He paused a moment for his words to sink in.

▪ The implications of Labour's defeat were beginning to sink in.

sink ²

sink² n

a large open container that you fill with water and use for washing yourself, washing dishes etc

→↑basin

▪ Dirty plates were piled high in the sink.

sink ³

sink³ adj

sink estate/school

BrE an area where people live or a school that is in a very bad condition and seems unlikely to improve

▪ Go to almost any city and you find sink estates where you get the feeling that the council hates the place and the people too.