# sink

Pronunciation: say "SINGK" /sɪŋk/

## Noun

1. A basin, usually fixed to a wall or counter, that holds water for washing dishes, hands, or food.
   - Simple: A bowl-shaped basin in a kitchen or bathroom used for washing things.
   - _The plumber fixed a leak under the bathroom sink._
   - _She rinsed the vegetables in a sink full of cold water._
4. A drain or conduit for carrying off wastewater.
   - Simple: A drain that carries dirty water away from a building.
   - _Rainwater drained through the sink into the river below._
   - _The builders connected each gutter to a single sink at the rear of the house._
8. A region or system that absorbs or stores resources or energy rather than releasing them.
   - Simple: A place or thing that takes in and holds resources or energy.
   - _Peat bogs function as long-term carbon sinks._
   - _Engineers treated the cold reservoir as a sink for the system's waste heat._
12. A device, usually of finned metal, that absorbs and disperses heat away from a component to keep it cool.
   - Simple: A part that draws heat away from something to keep it cool.
   - _Engineers attached an aluminum sink to the power transistor._
   - _Without an adequate sink, the chip would quickly burn out._
15. A natural depression or hole in the ground formed when surface material collapses into an underground cavity.
   - Simple: A hole in the ground formed when the surface collapses into a hollow below.
   - _The collapse left a sink wide enough to swallow a car._
   - _Geologists mapped each sink across the limestone plateau._
16. A hollow in the land where water collects and finds no visible way to drain away.
   - Simple: A low place in the ground where water gathers and has no way out.
   - _Geologists mapped a shallow sink where runoff gathered with no outlet to any river._
   - _The closed sink slowly filled with brackish water each spring._
18. The destination vertex in a transportation network, the point toward which flow is directed.
   - Simple: In a network, the end point where things are meant to arrive.
   - _The algorithm routes maximum flow from the source to the sink._
   - _Each shipment terminates at the network's sink, where demand is finally satisfied._
19. A node in a directed graph that has only incoming edges and no outgoing ones.
   - Simple: In a diagram of arrows, a point that arrows only point to, never away from.
   - _In this directed graph, node D is a sink because every edge points into it._
   - _Every path through the graph terminates at a sink._
20. A habitat unable to sustain its own population, depending on surplus individuals that arrive from other, more productive areas.
   - Simple: In nature, a place where animals cannot breed enough to survive, so it relies on newcomers from elsewhere.
   - _Ecologists classified the fragmented woodland as a sink, sustained only by birds dispersing from healthier forests._
   - _In a sink, deaths outnumber births, and the population persists only through immigration._
21. An object or callback that captures events as they occur in a program.
   - Simple: In computer programs, a part that catches signals or events when they happen.
   - _The framework routes every event to a registered sink for processing._
   - _Developers attached a logging sink to capture each notification._
22. Downward motion; the act or process of descending.
   - Simple: A downward movement, or the act of going lower.
   - _The gradual sink of the foundation alarmed the engineers._
   - _Sailors watched the steady sink of the wreck beneath the waves._
23. The downward-breaking motion of a sinker pitch as it approaches the plate.
   - Simple: In baseball, the sudden drop of a sinker pitch as it nears the batter.
   - _Scouts praised the late sink on his two-seamer._
   - _The pitcher relied on heavy sink to force ground balls._
24. A system that removes currency from a game's economy in order to control or prevent inflation.
   - Simple: In a video game, a way to take money out of the game so prices stay steady.
   - _Designers introduced a cosmetic shop as a gold sink to drain excess currency._
   - _Without an effective sink, the in-game economy quickly inflated._
25. A wretched place serving as the dwelling of degraded or morally fallen people.
   - Simple: A dirty, miserable place where bad or hopeless people live.
   - _Reformers described the overcrowded tenement as a sink of vice and despair._
   - _By night the alley turned into a sink where thieves and beggars sheltered._
26. A trapdoor in a theater stage used for shifting scenery between scenes.
   - Simple: In a theater, a trapdoor in the stage used to move scenery up or down.
   - _The scene change relied on a sink that swallowed the castle wall into the understage._
   - _Crew members operated the sink to swap backdrops between acts._
27. An excavation made in mining that is smaller than a full shaft.
   - Simple: In mining, a hole dug down into the ground that is smaller than a shaft.
   - _Prospectors opened a small sink to follow the ore vein downward._
   - _The crew abandoned the sink when it flooded faster than they could pump._
28. A depression in a stereotype plate, where the surface dips below the printing level.
   - Simple: In old printing, a low spot in a metal plate that does not print clearly.
   - _Pressmen noticed a sink in the stereotype plate that weakened the impression._
   - _A casting flaw produced a sink where the type failed to meet the paper._

## Verb

2. To descend below the surface of a liquid or similar substance, or to cause something to do so.
   - Simple: To go down below the surface of water or another liquid, or to make something do this.
   - _The anchor sank slowly toward the seabed._
   - _Drop a coin into oil and watch it sink to the bottom._
3. To cause a vessel to go under the water, usually by making it no longer watertight.
   - Simple: To make a boat or ship go under the water until it is lost.
   - _A single mine was enough to sink the destroyer._
   - _The crew deliberately sank their own ship to block the harbor._
5. To feel a sudden onset of apprehension, disappointment, or low spirits.
   - Simple: To suddenly feel sad, worried, or full of dread.
   - _His courage sank as the deadline drew closer._
   - _I could feel my hopes sink with every passing hour._
6. To send a ball into a pocket or hole, as in billiards, pool, or golf.
   - Simple: To hit a ball into a pocket or hole, as in pool or golf.
   - _With one clean stroke she sank the eight ball._
   - _You need to sink this putt to force a playoff._
7. To push or drive something into a surface or substance.
   - Simple: To push something firmly into a softer material or surface.
   - _They sink the pilings far into the riverbed for support._
   - _He sank the knife into the wooden block up to the handle._
9. To decrease in volume or level, as a river subsiding, or to become lower in apparent height.
   - Simple: To slowly go down in level or amount, like a river after rain.
   - _The reservoir sank to record lows during the drought._
   - _As the fire died down, the flames began to sink._
10. To cause something to decline; to depress, lower, or degrade it.
   - Simple: To make something or someone become worse, weaker, or less respected.
   - _One careless remark can sink an entire negotiation._
   - _The defeat sank morale across the whole team._
11. To create something, such as a well or shaft, by digging or boring downward.
   - Simple: To make a deep hole or shaft by digging downward.
   - _The company plans to sink several boreholes across the valley._
   - _Workers sank the foundation deep into the bedrock._
13. To weaken or fail in strength; to be overwhelmed and grow faint or despondent.
   - Simple: To lose strength or hope and feel beaten down.
   - _By nightfall the wounded soldier had begun to sink rapidly._
   - _The old man sank a little more each week, too weak to rise._
14. To lower or demean oneself; to act below one's status, standards, or morals.
   - Simple: To lower yourself by doing something shameful or below your standards.
   - _How could anyone sink to such cruelty toward a stranger?_
   - _He sank to cheating only after every honest option had failed._
17. To drink something down, especially an alcoholic beverage. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To drink something, especially alcohol, often quickly.
   - _The crew would sink several pints before the long drive home._
   - _She sank a glass of wine while waiting for the others._

## Verb

29. To die; to come to the end of one's life. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To die or come to the end of life.
   - _Many sank of fever during that bitter winter._
   - _She prayed she would not sink before her sons returned from sea._
30. To keep something out of sight, to suppress it, or to ignore it. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To hide something, hold it back, or pay no attention to it.
   - _The committee chose to sink the embarrassing report._
   - _She sank her pride and asked her rivals for help._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To hide money or goods entrusted to one and keep them for oneself.
- (verb) To put money into something for good, with no way of getting it back.
- (verb) To pay down a debt, partly or in full.

## Origin

From Middle English synken, from Old English sincan, going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to Proto-Indo-European *sengʷ- ("to fall, sink"). It is related to Dutch zinken, German sinken, and Swedish sjunka; in the causative sense it replaced Old English senċan ("make sink").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sink (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).