soak

UK/səʊk/US/soʊk/

verbB12 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,495 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: soaked, soaking, soaks

To soak is to leave something in liquid until it softens. Soak the beans, soak it overnight, leave it to soak.

In cooking, soaking softens dried pulses and rice; in cleaning, it loosens what will not scrub off. Soak up means to absorb: soak up the water, soak up the atmosphere. Soaked and soaking mean thoroughly wet — soaked to the skin. Note soaking wet, which is a fixed intensifier; and that soak as a noun in old slang means a heavy drinker, which is now dated.

Definitions of soak

1verbsoakTo leave something in liquid until it softens.B1
“Soak the beans in cold water overnight before you cook them.”
- Said"Soak the beans tonight, or we'll be waiting till midnight for them."
- WrittenThe pan soaked in the sink all night, and the burnt crust lifted off in one piece.
- UsedSoak dried fruit in warm tea before adding it to the cake.
- ContrastSoak, not rinse. A rinse is seconds under the tap; a soak is hours in still liquid. rinse →
- Not thisDipping a biscuit is not soaking it. Soak means leave it, and go away.
- Exchange"How long should they soak?""Overnight. Cover them by two fingers."
- SimplySoak the rice. Wait until tomorrow.
Patternsoak sth in + liquid · soak overnight / for + time · leave sth to soak · soak up · soaking wet
2verbthoroughlyTo make thoroughly wet.B1
“We got soaked to the skin walking home in the storm.”

soak is a steeping in liquid.

Remember it

It comes from the old word to suck: leave dry bread in the milk and it sucks it up until it is soft.

hooks ontosuck

Where it comes from

Old English socian is related to suck, from a root about drawing in liquid. Soaking and sucking are the same idea at different speeds, which is why both words survive.

Proto-Germanic
*sukōną — to soak
Old English
socian — to soak, steep
Middle English
soken
English, today
soak

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of soak

1verbsoakTo leave something in liquid until it softens.B1

“Soak the beans in cold water overnight before you cook them.”

Said"Soak the beans tonight, or we'll be waiting till midnight for them."
WrittenThe pan soaked in the sink all night, and the burnt crust lifted off in one piece.
UsedSoak dried fruit in warm tea before adding it to the cake.
ContrastSoak, not rinse. A rinse is seconds under the tap; a soak is hours in still liquid. rinse →
Not thisDipping a biscuit is not soaking it. Soak means leave it, and go away.
Exchange"How long should they soak?""Overnight. Cover them by two fingers."
SimplySoak the rice. Wait until tomorrow.

Patternsoak sth in + liquid · soak overnight / for + time · leave sth to soak · soak up · soaking wet

2verbthoroughlyTo make thoroughly wet.B1

“We got soaked to the skin walking home in the storm.”

soak is a steeping in liquid.