imbibe

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French imbiber, from Latin imbibō, from im- + bibō (“to drink”) (whence also beverage), from Proto-Italic *pibō, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₃-, whence also potable, potion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈbaɪb/
• Rhymes: -aɪb

Verb

imbibe (third-person singular simple present imbibes, present participle imbibing, simple past and past participle imbibed)

1. To drink (used frequently of alcoholic beverages).
2. (figuratively) To take in; absorb.

   to imbibe knowledge

   • 2006, Marsha Keith Schuchard, Why Mrs Blake Cried, Pimlico 2007, p. 219:

     Like the late Dr Falk (d. 1782), Grabianka was a native of Podolia, where Sabbatian influences were strong among local Jews, and he imbibed many of their notions.

Pronunciation

• Homophones: imbibent, imbibes

Verb

imbibe

1. first-person singular present indicative of imbiber
2. third-person singular present indicative of imbiber
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of imbiber
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of imbiber
5. second-person singular imperative of imbiber

Verb

imbibe

1. second-person singular present active imperative of imbibō