What does "soak" mean?
An immersion in water etc.
Soak
/soʊk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An immersion in water etc.
- Grammar: soak is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: absorb, absorb, absorbed, absorbing.
- Useful contrasts: crisp, bails, dehydrate.
- Usage evidence: You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water.
How to use "soak"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "soak" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "soak" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "soak" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "soak" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "soak" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absorb" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "soak", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An immersion in water etc.
"After the strenuous climb, I had a nice long soak in a bath."
- 2 washing something by allowing it to soak wordnet
- 3 A drunkard. British, slang
- 4 the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid) wordnet
- 5 A carouse; a drinking session. slang
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A low-lying depression that fills with water after rain. Australia
"I set off early to walk along the Melbourne Road where, one of the punters had told me, there was a soak with plenty of frogs in it."
Verb
- 1 To be saturated with liquid by being immersed in it. intransitive
"I'm going to soak in the bath for a couple of hours."
- 2 (slang, boxing) To hit or strike. transitive
"Wasn't Mr. Sipperley pretty shirty when he came to and found that you had been soaking him with putters?"
- 3 cover with liquid; pour liquid onto wordnet
- 4 To immerse in liquid to the point of saturation or thorough permeation. transitive
"Soak the beans overnight before cooking."
- 5 heat a metal prior to working it wordnet
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 To penetrate or permeate by saturation. intransitive
"The water soaked into my shoes and gave me wet feet."
- 7 fill, soak, or imbue totally wordnet
- 8 To allow (especially a liquid) to be absorbed; to take in, receive. (usually + up) transitive
"A sponge soaks up water; the skin soaks in moisture."
- 9 become drunk or drink excessively wordnet
- 10 To overcharge or swindle out of a large amount of money. figuratively, transitive
"It's a blackmail ring, and the district attorneys get a share of the loot. […] Well, they got him in the same kind of jam, and soaked him to the tune of three hundred and eighty-six thousand."
- 11 make drunk (with alcoholic drinks) wordnet
- 12 To drink intemperately or gluttonously. dated, slang
- 13 beat severely wordnet
- 14 To heat (a metal) before shaping it. transitive
- 15 submerge in a liquid wordnet
- 16 To hold a kiln at a particular temperature for a given period of time. transitive
"We should soak the kiln at cone 9 for half an hour."
- 17 rip off; ask an unreasonable price wordnet
- 18 To absorb; to drain. figuratively, transitive
"That they will want a certaine sucking and soaking"
- 19 leave as a guarantee in return for money wordnet
- 20 To engage in penetrative sex without hip thrusting. Mormonism, slang
Antonyms
Example
"You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "soak"?
Common synonyms include: absorb, absorb, absorbed, absorbing, alcoholic, assimilate.
How do you use "soak" in a sentence?
You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water.
How do you pronounce "soak"?
Pronounced /soʊk/.
Etymology
From Middle English soken, from Old English socian (“to soak, steep”, literally “to cause to suck (up)”), from Proto-Germanic *sukōną (“to soak”), causative of Proto-Germanic *sūkaną (“to suck”). Cognate with Middle Dutch soken (“to cause to suck”). More at suck.