absorb

tr.v., -sorbed, -sorb·ing, -sorbs.

1. To take (something) in through or as through pores or interstices.
2. To occupy the full attention, interest, or time of; engross. See synonyms at monopolize.
3. To retain (radiation or sound, for example) wholly, without reflection or transmission.
4. To take in; assimilate: immigrants who were absorbed into the social mainstream.
5. To learn; acquire: “Matisse absorbed the lesson and added to it a new language of color” (Peter Plagen).
6. To receive (an impulse) without echo or recoil: a fabric that absorbs sound; a bumper that absorbs impact.
7. To assume or pay for (a cost or costs).
8. To endure; accommodate: couldn't absorb the additional hardships.
9. To use up; consume: The project has absorbed all of our department's resources.

[Middle English, to swallow up, from Old French absorber, from Latin absorbēre : ab-, away; see ab–¹ + sorbēre, to suck.]

absorbability ab·sorb'a·bil'i·ty n.
absorbable ab·sorb'a·ble adj.
absorbedly ab·sorb'ed·ly adv.
absorber ab·sorb'er n.
absorbingly ab·sorb'ing·ly adv.

1. In a general business sense, when a cost is treated as an expense instead of being passed on to the customer in the form of higher prices.

2. In underwriting, when an issue has been completely sold to the public.

3. In mergers, when an acquired firm is folded into the acquiring company.

Investopedia Says:
The meaning of "absorbed" is similar to the non-financial definition of the term.

Business: a cost that is treated as an expense rather than passed on to a customer.

Also, a firm merged into an acquiring company.

Cost accounting: indirect manufacturing costs (such as property taxes and insurance) are called absorbed costs. They are differentiated from variable costs (such as direct labor and materials). See also Direct Overhead.

Finance: an account that has been combined with related accounts in preparing a financial statement and has lost its separate identity. Also called absorption account or adjunct account.

Securities: issue that an underwriter has completely sold to the public.

Also, in market trading, securities are absorbed as long as there are corresponding orders to buy and sell. The market has reached the absorption point when further assimilation is impossible without an adjustment in price. See also Undigested Securities.

1. To assimilate, transfer, or incorporate amounts in an account or a group of accounts in a manner in which the first entity loses its identity and is "absorbed" within the second entity. Examples include the sequential transfer of expenditure account amounts to Work-In-Process finished goods, and Cost of Sales.

2. To distribute or spread costs by the process of proration or allocation. See also Absorption Costing.

verb

1. To take in (moisture or liquid): drink, imbibe, soak (up), sop up, take up. See give/take/reciprocity.
2. To occupy the full attention of: consume, engross, immerse, monopolize, preoccupy. See awareness/unawareness, excite/bore/interest.
3. To take in and incorporate, especially mentally: assimilate, digest, imbibe, take up. Informal soak (up). See accept/reject.

v

Definition: mentally take in information
Antonyms: misunderstand, not get

v

Definition: occupy complete attention
Antonyms: distract

v

Definition: physically take in a liquid
Antonyms: disperse, dissipate, eject, emit, exude, spew, vomit

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(əbzôrb′)
v

1. etymological: to suck up. v 2. to incorporate or assimilate a liquid or gas into tissue or cells.

1. to take in or assimilate, as to take up substances into or across tissues, e.g. the skin or intestine.
2. to stop particles of radiation so that their energy is totally transferred to the absorbing material.

IN BRIEF: To drink or suck up.

The mind can absorb anything that entertains it.

Tutor's tip: After a substance is "absorbed" (swallowed up), the substance itself is known as an "adsorb."

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - absorbere

Nederlands (Dutch)
absorberen, opvangen

Français (French)
v. tr. - absorber, amortir, s'absorber dans, plonger dans, être tout entier à

Deutsch (German)
v. - absorbieren, aufnehmen, aufsaugen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - απορροφώ, αφομοιώνω

Italiano (Italian)
assorbire

Português (Portuguese)
v. - absorver, engolir, beber

Русский (Russian)
впитывать, поглощать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - absorber

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - absorbera, suga upp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
吸收, 使全神贯注, 汲取, 理解

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 吸收, 使全神貫注, 汲取, 理解

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 흡수하다, 몰두 시키다, 먹다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 吸収する, 取り込む, 夢中にさせる, 奪う, 併合する, 夢中にする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يمتص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮ספג, קלט‬

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