drink
/drɪŋk
/verb (past drank /draŋk/; past participle drunk /drʌŋk/) [with object]
1Take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow: we sat by the fire, drinking our tea [no object]: he drank thirstily...
- I can distinctly remember wondering how anyone could bring themselves to drink this disgusting liquid.
- He nodded wordlessly and then thirstily drank the water she offered.
- He added that his greatest concern was about how they would be able to persuade Johnny to drink liquids after his procedure.
Synonyms
swallow, gulp down, quaff, swill, guzzle, sup;
imbibe, partake of, sip, consume, take;
drain, toss off
informal swig, down, knock back, put away, sink, kill, slug, inhale, wet one's whistle
British informal neck
North American informal scarf (down/up), snarf (down/up), chug
rare ingurgitate
1.1 [no object] Consume or be in the habit of consuming alcohol: she doesn’t drink or smoke (as noun drinking) Les was ordered to cut down his drinking...
- We can save a small fortune by simply dropping bad habits like smoking, drinking and gambling.
- It plans to target a core group of 15 homeless people with chronic alcohol problems who drink on the city's streets.
- Ryan said he spent much of the time drinking and had consumed eight or nine pints and a number of shorts.
Synonyms
drink alcohol, take alcohol, tipple, indulge;
be a serious/heavy/hard drinker, be an alcoholic, binge-drink;
carouse, go drinking, predrink
informal take a drop, hit the bottle, take to the bottle, booze, knock a few back, have a few, have one over the eight, tank up, get tanked up, drink like a fish, go on a binge/bender
British informal bevvy
North American informal bend one's elbow, lush
Australian/New Zealand informal grog up
archaic wassail, tope
1.2 [no object] (drink up) Quickly consume the rest of a drink.In Ireland there is a tradition of having to drink up quickly before leaving the pub at closing time....
- One of the things that fuels the increase in alcohol-related violence is people drinking up when they know they are close to closing time.
- She says the policeman appeared at the pub at 12.10 am but the pub had stopped serving customers by midnight and people were in the process of drinking up.
1.3 informal (Of a plant or a porous substance) absorb (moisture): the seedlings apparently drink much more water than we had realized...
- The wicking action of the soil draws water into the pot as the plants drink it up.
- You may need to add more water as the beans drink it up.
- Check the water level daily and keep topped up - the tree will drink a lot especially in a warm room.
1.4 [no object] (Of wine) have a specified flavour or character when drunk: this wine is really drinking beautifully...
- The wine drinks very well now but it could be kept in the cellar for several more years.
- This wine should drink beautifully for at least a decade.
- Crisply dry, with almost mineral overtones, this elegant Champagne is drinking well now but will cellar comfortably for 5 - 8 years.
2 (drink something in) Watch or listen to something with eager pleasure or interest: she strolled to the window to drink in the view...
- From here one could drink in the scenery of the even higher, treeless peaks.
- We tried to savour the day and drink in the atmosphere, but it all went by too quickly
Synonyms
absorb, assimilate, digest, ingest, take in, be absorbed in, be immersed in, be rapt in, be lost in, be fascinated by, pay close attention to
noun
1A liquid that can be swallowed as refreshment or nourishment: fizzy drinks [mass noun]: a table covered with food and drink...
- Visitors will also be able to relax with a refreshing drink and snack in the dining room.
- It is important to avoid constantly snacking on sugary foods or sipping fizzy drinks.
- However, if you enjoy the taste of herbs as a garnish to your food, why not enjoy their refreshing and health-giving properties in refreshing summer drinks.
Synonyms
beverage, drinkable/potable liquid, liquid refreshment, thirst quencher;
dram, bracer, nightcap, nip, tot, spot;
North American eye-opener;
Scottish & Irish deoch an doris
British informal cuppa, pint
rare potation, libation
1.1A quantity of liquid swallowed at one go: he had a drink of water...
- She took a long drink of water, swallowing it slowly as she looked around the courtyard.
- Cliff nodded, washing down his mouthful with a drink of pale liquid that smelled heavily of mangos.
- She was distressed and had to be given several drinks of water.
Synonyms
swallow, gulp, sip, draught, swill
informal swig, slug
North American informal chug
1.2 [mass noun] Alcohol, or the habitual or excessive consumption of alcohol: the effects of too much drink they both took to drink...
- He told the meeting that there would be no consumption of drink at the museum.
- Like many successful Irish events, Dublin football games are bound up with the vast consumption of drink.
- He describes the extravagant body language, the noise, the excessive consumption of food and drink.
Synonyms
alcohol, liquor, intoxicating liquor, alcoholic drink, strong drink, intoxicants
informal booze, hooch, the hard stuff, firewater, gut-rot, rotgut, moonshine, tipple, the demon drink, the bottle, juice, the sauce, grog, Dutch courage, John Barleycorn
British informal wallop, bevvy
1.3A glass of liquid, especially when alcoholic: we went for a drink...
- The bartender poured a drink into a shot glass, and gave it to him.
- There are a number of young people who think that if they drink out of a bottle rather than a glass, their drink will not be spiked.
- Smith, the mother of a young son, had been persuaded to go for a drink and thought a glass of wine would leave her system in an hour.
Synonyms
glass, cup, mug
1.4 (drinks) A social gathering at which alcoholic drinks are served: would you like to come for drinks on Sunday?...
- As the round of Christmas parties begins, with drinks after work, alcohol-fuelled meals or a glass or two of wine with friends, danger lies in taking a chance.
- It still breathes fire at night, greeting guests who gather for drinks or dinner.
- No, I'm sorry, I just don't have any time for dinner, drinks, lunch, coffee or meetings before I leave San Francisco.
1.5 (the drink) informal The sea or another large area of water: he heaved the outboard motor into the drink...
- She was known as a ‘forgiving’ boat, allowing her crew to make mistakes without tossing them into the drink.
- When I stepped off my boat I found that after weeks at sea I could hardly stand - as soon as I stepped onto the jetty I almost fell straight backwards into the drink again.
- Me and Keith got caught by an alarmingly large gust of wind and ended up in the drink.
Synonyms
the sea, the ocean, the water
informal the briny, Davy Jones's locker
literary the deep
Phrases
be drinking in the last chance saloon
drink and drive
drink deep
drink someone's health
drink (a toast) to
drink someone under the table
drive someone to drink
I'll drink to that
in drink
Origin
Old English drincan (verb), drinc (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch drinken and German trinken.
Old English drinc ‘drink’ had a close relative drenc which is the source of drench (Old English). The colloquial phrase the drink referring to the sea, dates from the mid 19th century, but drink like a fish goes back to at least the early 17th when John Fletcher and James Shirley wrote a play called The Night-Walker which contains the line ‘Give me the bottle, I can drink like a Fish now, like an Elephant’. Drunk comes from the past tense of drink. We now use the American drunk as a skunk, but Chaucer describes someone as drunk as a mouse; and drunk as a rat or even a wheelbarrow have been used in the past. Drunkards have been with us since at least the 13th century.