Synonyms of drinking

drinking

verb

present participle of drink

1

as in sipping

to swallow in liquid form

the doctor wants her to drink lots of water before the examination

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sipping
• gulping
• licking
• quaffing
• imbibing
• supping
• swigging
• sucking
• slurping
• swilling
• guzzling
• pounding (down)
• tossing (down or off)
• hoisting
• belting (down)
• consuming
• slugging (down)
• knocking back
• tippling
• downing
• lapping
• toasting
• mouthing (down)
• wining
• killing
• putting away
• ingurgitating
• pledging
• nipping

2

as in boozing

to partake excessively of alcoholic beverages

we're worried that she's started drinking again

Synonyms & Similar Words

• boozing
• reveling
• tippling
• guzzling
• soaking
• carousing
• bibbing
• hitting the bottle
• imbibing
• boozing it up
• lushing (up)
• liquoring (up)
• nipping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abstaining

3

as in absorbing

to take in (something liquid) through small openings

the hot surface of the porous rock drank water like a sponge

Synonyms & Similar Words

• absorbing
• sipping
• swallowing
• imbibing
• soaking (up)
• sponging
• taking up
• sucking (up)
• gulping
• quaffing
• swigging
• slurping
• swilling
• guzzling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drinking

People can get the stomach bug by eating and drinking food and water contaminated with poop. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026

Alcohol disrupts sleep, but drinking earlier may give your body more time to process it before bedtime, reducing its impact on sleep quality. — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 17 July 2026

But each caters to a generation that is already drinking less alcohol and more caffeine. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 17 July 2026

How to protect yourself The symptoms of the illness include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite and fatigue, and people contract it by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. — Allison Aubrey, NPR, 17 July 2026

And should these individuals feel a bit too preppy for your tastes, do note that bohemians Picasso and Dalí also spent their summers drinking sangria in espadrilles. — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 17 July 2026

Currents around the island can be dangerous, and some accounts say there was drinking at the party. — Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Some jokes, including a riff on the history of the Wright Brothers, feel vaguely Dada, as if Marino and Wain had spent a long, happy stretch of aimless days drinking coffee and free-associating. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 10 July 2026

The two 15-year-olds were allegedly drinking alcohol inside the vehicle and hanging out of the windows of the vehicle, shooting Orbeez water beads out of a toy gun. — Noe Padilla, USA Today, 10 July 2026