soak up

phrasal verb

soaked up; soaking up; soaks up

1

: to take in (liquid) : absorb

The rag soaked up most of the water.

2

: to enjoy feeling or experiencing (something pleasant) in usually a slow or relaxed way

We went to the beach and soaked up the sun/sunshine all afternoon.

I sat at my table for an hour soaking up the atmosphere of the café.

The performers stood on the stage, soaking up the applause.

3

: to learn and remember (something) quickly

He eagerly soaked up every word she said.

She has an ability to soak up new information very quickly.

4

: to use a large amount of (money, supplies, etc.)

This project is soaking up resources that could be used elsewhere.

Examples of soak up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Rhode beauty founder shared two snaps with her little one soaking up the sun but made sure not to show his face. —William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025

Leagues of documents necessary to meet Know Your Customer/Know Your Business regulations leave banks with a bottleneck of data that complicates and slows the onboarding process, frustrating customers and soaking up time and resources within the organization. —Alex Ford, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Pictures showed the duo soaking up the moment in Hawaii, where the rapper was present kicking off the inaugural Hawaii Fest. —Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 5 Mar. 2025

Plants love to soak up calcium as much as our bones do, and milk’s antifungal properties are thought to mitigate mildew in your outdoor garden too. —Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 5 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for soak up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup