verb

sink

SINGK/sɪŋk/

To descend below a surrounding level.

The empty rowboat sinks bow-first while its stern remains above water.

An unoccupied small wooden rowboat sinking bow-first, with its bow visibly below the water surface and only its raised stern remaining above water.

Etymology

sinkOld Englishto become submerged, go under

Old English sincan already described becoming submerged or going under. The selected meaning preserves that motion of the subject itself; the use meaning “cause something to go down” developed later.

In context

Discovery Everyday4:14

While iron or even lead might bob on the surface of mercury, osmium would sink like a stone in water.

What are Iridium and Osmium? The hardest and densest space metals on Earth?

More examples

My boots sink into the soft mud.
Rainwater sinks into the dry soil.
Too much cargo can sink a small boat.

Forms

sink · sinks · sank · sunk · sinking

sinker noun — A weight that pulls fishing line downward.

Similar words

descend: Means move downward, without necessarily entering a surrounding substance.
submerge: Emphasizes going beneath a liquid's surface, often completely.