imbibe

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ɪmˈbaɪb/ UK /ɪmˈbaɪb/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to drink, especially alcohol; to absorb ideas or knowledge

He imbibed the philosophy of his mentor over many years.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to drink, especially... drink quaff swallow absorb ingest assimilate consume

Opposites

expel disgorge exhale

Word family

Derived forms imbiberimbibingimbibition

Related forms imbibition

Simplified etymology

Imbibe entered English in the late Middle English period and derives ultimately from Latin bibere, meaning “to drink.” The same Latin verb lies behind beer, beverage, and bibulous.

Etymology

From Latin imbibere ('to drink in, absorb'), from in- ('in') + bibere ('to drink').

imbibere Latin bibere Latin *peh₃- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# imbibe

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪmˈbaɪb/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪmˈbaɪb/

## Meanings
1. to drink, especially alcohol; to absorb ideas or knowledge

## Examples
- He imbibed the philosophy of his mentor over many years.

## Synonyms
- drink
- quaff
- swallow
- absorb
- ingest
- assimilate
- consume

## Antonyms
- expel
- disgorge
- exhale

## Derived Forms
- imbiber
- imbibing
- imbibition

## Related Forms
- imbibition

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: imbibere
- Root: bibere
- Root: *peh₃-

## Etymology
From Latin imbibere ('to drink in, absorb'), from in- ('in') + bibere ('to drink').

## AI Etymology
Imbibe comes from Latin imbibere ('to drink in, absorb'), from in- ('in') + bibere ('to drink'). The historical trail runs through Latin imbibere, Latin bibere and Proto-Indo-European *peh₃-. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means to drink, especially alcohol; to absorb ideas or knowledge. Derived formations include imbiber, imbibing, imbibition; related forms include imbibition.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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