Other forms: absorbed, absorbing, absorbs
To absorb is to soak something up. Absorb water, absorb the shock, absorb the cost.
Physically it means taking in a liquid or an energy: absorb sound, absorb impact. Of information it means taking it in and understanding: absorb the details, hard to absorb. Of an organisation it means taking over: the firm was absorbed. Absorbed in something means completely occupied by it. Note absorbent, absorption; and that absorbing as an adjective means so interesting you lose track of time.
1verbabsorbTo soak something up.
“Use a paper towel to absorb the spilt milk.”
synonyms: soak up, take in
2verbtakeTo take in and understand information.
“There was so much new information that I couldn't absorb it all.”
absorb is a taking in.
Also accepted in games: soak up
Latin absorbere is ab-, away, plus sorbere, to suck in. The same root gives sorbet at some distance, and the word has meant sucking up since Roman use.
Latin
absorbeō
Old French
assorbir
Middle French
absorber
English, today
absorb
From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō. From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- + sorbeō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA