# soak

Pronunciation: say "SOHK" US /soʊk/, UK /səʊk/

## Verb

1. To immerse something in liquid until it is thoroughly saturated.
   - Simple: To leave something in liquid until it is completely wet through.
   - _Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for twenty minutes._
   - _He soaked the brushes in solvent to loosen the dried paint._
2. To become saturated by being immersed in liquid.
   - Simple: To get completely wet by staying in liquid for a while.
   - _Leave the lentils to soak before you start cooking._
   - _The clothes soaked in cold water until the stains lifted._
3. To take in or absorb a liquid or other thing; often used with up.
   - Simple: To take in a liquid the way a sponge does.
   - _Plants soak up nutrients through their roots._
   - _She sat on the porch and soaked up the afternoon sun._
4. To penetrate or spread through something by saturation.
   - Simple: To slowly move all the way through something by wetting it.
   - _The oil soaked into the grain of the old table._
   - _Cold damp can soak through stone walls over the winter._
6. To absorb or drain away something, such as money, time, or energy.
   - Simple: To use up or take in all of something, like money or time.
   - _The lawsuit soaked the company's reserves within a year._
   - _Endless errands soak up her free time on the weekends._
7. To overcharge someone or cheat them out of a large sum of money.
   - Simple: To make someone pay far too much money.
   - _The hotel soaked its guests with hidden fees at checkout._
   - _Scalpers soak desperate fans for hundreds of dollars per ticket._
12. To hit or strike someone, especially with a heavy punch.
   - Simple: To hit or punch someone hard.
   - _The champion soaked his challenger with a brutal uppercut._
   - _He waited for an opening to soak the taller fighter on the jaw._
13. To heat a metal thoroughly before shaping it.
   - Simple: To heat metal until it is hot enough to shape.
   - _The smith soaked the billet until it reached an even working heat._
   - _Workers soak the ingots before they pass to the rolling mill._
14. To hold a kiln at a set temperature for a given length of time.
   - Simple: To keep a kiln at one set temperature for a set time.
   - _The potter soaked the kiln near top temperature to mature the glazes._
   - _You soak the kiln so the heat spreads evenly through every pot._
15. To engage in penetrative sex while remaining still, without thrusting the hips. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have penetrative sex while staying still, without thrusting the hips.
   - _In certain communities, couples are taught to soak rather than thrust._
   - _He found that soaking felt more intimate than active movement._

## Noun

5. An act of immersing oneself or something in water.
   - Simple: A time spent resting in water to get clean or relax.
   - _A hot soak eased the soreness in her aching muscles._
   - _The raw wool needs a soak before you start dyeing it._
8. A low-lying hollow in the ground that fills with water after rain. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: A low place in the ground that fills with water after it rains.
   - _Cattle drank from the soak that formed after the heavy rains._
   - _Every spring the soak in the meadow brims with rainwater._
9. A drinking session; a bout of heavy drinking. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A time spent drinking a lot of alcohol with others.
   - _The reunion ended in a riotous soak at the old tavern._
   - _He regretted the weekend soak when Monday morning came._
10. A person who habitually drinks to excess; a drunkard. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: A person who drinks too much alcohol.
   - _The landlord finally barred the old soak who never paid his tab._
   - _She married a charming man who turned out to be a hopeless soak._

## Verb

11. To drink alcohol heavily and without restraint. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To drink too much alcohol, again and again.
   - _They soaked steadily through the long winter evenings._
   - _Old hands at the docks would soak until their wages ran out._

## Origin

From Middle English soken, from Old English socian ("to soak, steep"), literally "to cause to suck up," which came from Proto-Germanic *sukōną, a causative form of *sūkaną ("to suck"). It is related to the word "suck."

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