verb

1. To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.

2. To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.

3. To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.

Synonyms: assume, bear, pay for, use up, assimilate, engulf, incorporate, overwhelm