2. To absorb or take in as if by drinking: “The whole body . . . imbibes delight through every pore”(Henry David Thoreau).
3. To receive and absorb into the mind: “Gladstone had . . . imbibed a strong prejudice against Americans”(Philip Magnus).
4. Obsolete To permeate; saturate.
v.intr.
To drink alcoholic beverages.
[Middle English embiben, to soak up, saturate, from Latin imbibere, to drink in, imbibe : in-, in; see in-2 + bibere, to drink; see p(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
ingest, consume, have, take in, take – serve oneself to, or consume regularly; “Have another bowl of chicken soup!”; “I don’t take sugar in my coffee”
swill down, swill – drink large quantities of (liquid, especially alcoholic drink)
suck – draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth; “suck the poison from the place where the snake bit”; “suck on a straw”; “the baby sucked on the mother’s breast”
guggle, gurgle – drink from a flask with a gurgling sound
m-b
b
)
(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
