soak
soak — noun
- soaksingular
- soaksplural
1. a length of time that something spends sitting in water or another liquid, usual
a length of time that something spends sitting in water or another liquid, usually to clean it or make it softer
Give the dried beans a good soak overnight before cooking them.
collocation: give something a soak
After the long hike, Tara took a long soak in the hot tub.
collocation: have/take a soak
The recipe says the rice needs a short soak before steaming.
Otis gave his sore shoulder a warm soak with Epsom salts.
文法句型
a + soak
give something a soak
have a soak
用法筆記
Usually singular and used with an indefinite article or possessive.
2. an informal and disapproving word for someone who habitually drinks large amount
an informal and disapproving word for someone who habitually drinks large amounts of alcohol
The old soak at the corner table had already drunk three bottles of wine.
informal register: old soak
Nobody wanted to hire him once everyone knew he was a soak.
His grandfather was a harmless old soak who never hurt anyone.
The local soak sat on the same bar stool every evening until closing time.
文法句型
a + soak
用法筆記
Strongly informal and somewhat dated. Rarely used in modern everyday conversation except humorously.
soak — verb
- soakpresent simple I / you / we / they
- soakshe / she / it
- soakedpast simple
- soaking-ing form
1. when a liquid causes something to become completely wet, or when a material take
when a liquid causes something to become completely wet, or when a material takes in liquid through its surface
The rain soaked through Christopher's jacket and made his shirt wet.
phrasal pattern: soak through [something]
Zuri soaked a clean towel in warm water and placed it on her forehead.
transitive: soak [something] in [liquid]
Use a sponge to soak up the water that spilled on the floor.
The oil from the fried fish soaked into the paper wrapping quickly.
Heavy rain soaked the fields, turning the soil into thick mud.
文法句型
soak something
soak through something
soak something up
something soaks into
用法筆記
Can be used transitively (the rain soaked the ground) or intransitively (the water soaked into the wood). The phrasal verb 'soak up' adds the idea of absorbing liquid like a sponge.
常見錯誤
2. to place an item in water or another liquid and let it sit for a while, with the
to place an item in water or another liquid and let it sit for a while, with the aim of cleaning it, softening its texture, or adding flavour
Adina soaked the dried chickpeas overnight before making hummus.
collocation: soak [beans/grains] overnight
Hyun soaked his stained shirt in cold water and detergent for an hour.
purpose: cleaning
Min soaked the bamboo leaves in warm water to make them soft for wrapping dumplings.
The recipe says to soak the berries in brandy for two weeks.
文法句型
soak something in [liquid]
soak [food/clothing] for [time]
leave something to soak
用法筆記
The purpose is always deliberate — cleaning, softening, or flavouring. When the goal is simply to make something wet, use sense 1 instead.
常見錯誤
3. to consume large amounts of alcoholic drinks, especially as a regular habit that
to consume large amounts of alcoholic drinks, especially as a regular habit that harms your health or life
Iker spent most of his twenties soaking in cheap bars around the city.
informal register: soaking = drinking heavily
The novel tells the story of a writer who soaks away his sorrows every night.
Niran's friends worried that he was soaking too much and needed help.
After losing his job, Darius spent his evenings soaking alone in his apartment.
- binge drink
more modern — describes heavy drinking in a short period
- hit the bottle
idiomatic — also informal, implies regular heavy drinking
文法句型
soak
be soaking
soak oneself
用法筆記
Informal and slightly old-fashioned. 'Soak' as a verb for drinking is less common in modern English than 'binge drink' or 'hit the bottle'.
4. to make someone pay far more than the usual or fair price for something, in a wa
to make someone pay far more than the usual or fair price for something, in a way that feels dishonest
The taxi driver soaked the tourists for three times the normal fare.
pattern: soak [someone] for [amount]
Paloma felt the mechanic had soaked her for simple repairs on her car.
Customers complained that the beach restaurant soaked them for basic meals.
The repair shop soaked Hyun for two hundred dollars to fix a simple leak.
- overcharge
neutral and direct; 'soak' is more informal and suggests a bigger, more unfair overcharge
- rip off
equally informal, very common in everyday speech
- fleece
informal but slightly more dramatic, implies being cheated out of a large sum
文法句型
soak someone for [amount]
get soaked
用法筆記
Always transitive, usually followed by 'for' indicating the price or amount. 'Get soaked' is the common passive form.