absorb

verb14

1. •
   To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.
2. •
   To be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.

   • The drops of water slowly absorbed into the dry sponge.
3. •
   To assimilate mentally.

   • If we fail to absorb the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them.
4. •
   To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.

   • Livonian affairs held him tight, and were to absorb him for many a year. — 1904
5. •
   To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.

   • Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all. — 1782
6. •
   To take in energy and convert it.

   • Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.
7. •
   in receiving a physical impact or vibration without recoil.
8. •
   in receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.
9. •
   taking in radiant energy and converting it to a different form of energy, like heat.
10. •
    To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.

    • Among the most debatable is the contention that the profit margins of small employers are insufficient to absorb the costs of health insurance — 2006
11. •
    To defray the costs.

    • I’ll absorb the charge for the window replacement.
12. •
    To occupy or consume time.
13. •
    To accept or purchase in quantity.
14. •
    (no longer used) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.

    • to be absorpt, or swallowed up, in a lake of fire and brimstone. — 1684