Word · Frequency #2585
sunk
消沉；沮丧；体力不支
sunk is the past participle of sink (irregular).
to become sad, discouraged, or weak; to lose strength
- 1.
To diminish or be diminished.
减少或使减少。
- 2.
To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fail in strength.
感到压抑或沮丧；体力不支。
- 3.
To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
水量减少,如河流；消退；体积或视在高度变小。
消退；回落；减退；减少；缩小；减弱；减少或使减少。；感到压抑或沮丧；体力不支。；水量减少,如河流；消退；体积或视在高度变小。
In use
The water level in the swimming pool sank quickly because there was a leak.
Temperatures often sink below 0°C here in winter.
His confidence sank after he failed the driving test again.
Verb forms
base sink · third person sinks · -ing sinking · past sank · past participle sunk
sink是不规则动词，过去式和过去分词分别为sank和sunk。
Connections
Idioms & figurative uses
- sink in
- 逐渐被理解；深入人心It took a moment for the news to sink in.过了一会儿，这个消息才逐渐被人理解。
- sink or swim
- 成败全靠自己；孤注一掷Nobody is going to help you now; it's sink or swim.现在没人会帮你，成败全靠你自己。
- sink your teeth into
- 全身心投入；认真做某事She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into the new project.她迫不及待地全身心投入这个新项目。
Pop culture & quotes
- Sink the Bismarck!
- 击沉俾斯麦号！A line from the 1960 song 'Sink the Bismarck' by Johnny Horton, about the British pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. The phrase became a popular cultural reference for the wartime event.出自约翰尼·霍顿1960年的歌曲《击沉俾斯麦号》，讲述1941年英国追猎并击沉德国战列舰‘俾斯麦号’的故事。这句话成为该海战事件的文化标志。
- They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
- 他们像铅块一样沉入浩瀚的海水。From the Song of Moses in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 15:10), this verse describes the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. It is a famous biblical image of sinking.
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象水槽(sink)里的水慢慢流走，水面下降、东西沉底，正对应“减少、消退、消沉”的意思。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：financial reports、statistics and data discussions、environmental descriptions (e.g., river levels, volume) 这里取“减少、降低”这一义项。sink 在此义上通常属于中性偏正式的动词，多用于书面或较正式的口语中，如市场数据下降、水位消退等；日常口语里更常见的是 go down 或 drop。
Grammar Note
sink 既可作及物动词（使下沉）也可作不及物动词（下沉）
Pronunciation & Spelling
These words all rhyme with "sink": they share the stressed vowel /ɪ/ followed by /ŋk/. Beware of lookalikes like "sign" (/saɪn/) or "sigh" (/saɪ/), which look similar but sound completely different.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 3，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.