Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

Medical

Scrabble^®

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Dictionary

¹soak

verb \ˈsōk\

: to put (something) in a liquid for a period of time

: to take a long bath

: to make (someone or something) very wet with water or another liquid

Full Definition of SOAK

intransitive verb

: to lie immersed in liquid (as water) : become saturated by or as if by immersion

a : to enter or pass through something by or as if by pores or interstices : permeate

b : to penetrate or affect the mind or feelings —usually used with in or into

: to drink alcoholic beverages intemperately

transitive verb

: to permeate so as to wet, soften, or fill thoroughly

: to place in a surrounding element (as liquid) to wet or permeate thoroughly

: to extract by or as if by steeping <soak the dirt out>

a : to draw or take in by or as if by suction or absorption <soaked up the sunshine>

b : to intoxicate (oneself) by drinking alcoholic beverages

: to cause to pay an exorbitant amount

— soak·er noun

See soak defined for English-language learners

See soak defined for kids

Origin of SOAK

Middle English soken, from Old English socian; akin to Old English sūcan to suck

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SOAK

Synonyms: drench, drown, impregnate, macerate, saturate, sodden, sop, souse, steep

Antonyms: wring (out)

Synonym Discussion of SOAK

soak, saturate, drench, steep, impregnate mean to permeate or be permeated with a liquid. soak implies usually prolonged immersion as for softening or cleansing <soak the garment in soapy water>. saturate implies a resulting effect of complete absorption until no more liquid can be held <a saturated sponge>. drench implies a thorough wetting by something that pours down or is poured <clothes drenched by a cloudburst>. steep suggests either the extraction of an essence (as of tea leaves) by the liquid or the imparting of a quality (as a color) to the thing immersed <steep the tea for five minutes>. impregnate implies a thorough interpenetration of one thing by another <a cake strongly impregnated with brandy>.

Rhymes with SOAK

bloke, broke, choke, cloak, coke, croak, folk, hoke, joke, moke, oak, poke, Polk, roque, smoke, soke, spoke, stoke, stroke, toke, toque, yogh, yoke, yolk

²soak

noun

: an act of letting something stay in a liquid for a long time in order to soften or clean it

: a long bath

Full Definition of SOAK

a : the act or process of soaking : the state of being soaked

b : that (as liquid) in which something is soaked

: drunkard

slang : ²pawn 2

See soak defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SOAK

15th century

Related to SOAK

Synonyms: alcoholic, alkie (or alky) [slang], boozehound, boozer, dipsomaniac, drinker, drunkard, inebriate, juicehead [slang], juicer [slang], lush, rummy, drunk, soaker, sot, souse, tippler, toper, tosspot

SOAKER Defined for Kids

¹soak

verb \ˈsōk\

soakedsoak·ing

Definition of SOAK for Kids

: to lie covered with liquid <He soaked in the tub.>

: to place in a liquid to wet or as if to wet thoroughly <Soak the beans in water.>

: to make very wet <The rain soaked us.>

: to enter or pass through something by or as if by tiny holes : permeate <The water soaked into the ground.>

: to draw in by or as if by absorption <The rag soaked up the spill.> <She soaked up the sunshine.>

²soak

noun

Definition of SOAK for Kids

: the act or process of letting something stay in a liquid for a long time to soften or clean it

: a long bath

Medical Dictionary

soak

noun \ˈsōk\

Medical Definition of SOAK

: an often hot medicated solution with which a body part is soaked usually long or repeatedly especially to promote healing, relieve pain, or stimulate local circulation