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imbibe

Syllabification: (im·bibe)
Pronunciation: /imˈbīb/
Translate imbibe | into Italian
Definition of imbibe

verb

[with object] formal or humorous
  • drink (alcohol):they were imbibing far too many pitchers of beer [no object]:having imbibed too freely, he fell over
  • absorb or assimilate (ideas or knowledge):she had imbibed the gospel of modernism from Kandinsky
  • chiefly Botany (especially of seeds) absorb (water) into ultramicroscopic spaces or pores.
  • Botany place (seeds) in water in order to absorb it.

Derivatives

imbiber

noun

imbibition

Pronunciation: /ˌimbəˈbiSHən/
noun
(chiefly Botany)

Origin:

late Middle English (in the senses 'absorb or cause to absorb moisture' and 'take into solution'): from Latin imbibere, from in- 'in' + bibere 'to drink'

imbibe in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of imbibe in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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