soak (up)

verb

Definition of soak (up)next
as in to drink
to take in (something liquid) through small openings this sponge should soak up the spilled juice very nicely

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for soak (up)
  1. drink
  2. absorb
  3. take up
Verb
  • Loise, vibrant but tense, gets through her days by drinking wine.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • It’s been so dry that Valdez no longer can get water in his irrigation system for his animals to drink.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of drink
Verb
  • Curtailment risk in India refers to a situation when renewable power plants are forced to cut their generation to meet the electrical grid’s capacity to safely absorb or transmit power.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
  • This design effectively absorbs violent shockwaves that would otherwise shatter conventional armor.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of absorb
Verb
  • With Elliot Anderson asked to be the fulcrum of the team, the Argentine midfielder took up the slightly wide-on-the-right midfield position that City have been working on this season.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Bi is at work on a black gown with a veil, which Christian worries is taking up too much time.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of take up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

soaks (up)
soak (up)
so-and-so
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Soak (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/soak%20%28up%29. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of patina

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All