v., drank (drăngk), drunk (drŭngk), drink·ing, drinks. v.tr.
- To take into the mouth and swallow (a liquid).
- To swallow the liquid contents of (a vessel): drank a cup of tea.
- To take in or soak up; absorb: drank the fresh air; spongy earth that drank up the rain.
- To take in eagerly through the senses or intellect: drank in the beauty of the day.
- To give or make (a toast).
- To toast (a person or an occasion, for example): We'll drink your health.
- To bring to a specific state by drinking alcoholic liquors: drank our sorrows away.
- To swallow liquid: drank noisily; drink from a goblet.
- To imbibe alcoholic liquors: They only drink socially.
- To salute a person or an occasion with a toast: We will drink to your continued success.
- A liquid that is fit for drinking; a beverage.
- An amount of liquid swallowed: took a long drink from the fountain.
- An alcoholic beverage, such as a cocktail or highball.
- Excessive or habitual indulgence in alcoholic liquor.
- Chiefly Southern U.S. See soft drink. See Regional Note at tonic.
- Slang. A body of water; the sea: The hatch cover slid off the boat and into the drink.
[Middle English drinken, from Old English drincan.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
