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Glite Dictionary
absorbent material

absorbent material

1 3.0
A material that soaks up liquids or gases quickly
  • noun
translation icon : material absorbente
  • Contact someone from Planned Parenthood (corporate) or another pro-women organization. What I'm really curious about is whether inserting a moldy piece of absorbent material has any adverse effects, because based on the reply you got from the company, it's apparently fine.
  • absorbent material soaks

Examples

  • The firefighter used an absorbent material to soak up the oil spill on the road.

  • When cleaning up spills, it's important to choose an absorbent material like sponge or cloth to prevent accidents.

  • Cotton tends to be the most commonly found absorbent material in cloth diapers.

    Blog text (32)

  • These pads have a form-fitting shape and use a lightweight, highly absorbent material with waterproof backing.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Essentially, a doubler is just a strip of absorbent material that is laid or stuffed into the diaper to increase its absorbency, typically purchased separately from a diaper itself.

    Blog text (32)

  • Nearly every handbook and catalog from 1910 on recommends surrounding the screen with some kind of light-absorbent material, usually black velvet drapery (fig. 10).

    Academic text (2017)

  • Cotton is an absorbent material commonly used in towels to quickly soak up water.

Synonyms

soaker
vsabsorbent material
  • US
3 3.4

Something that takes in and holds a lot of liquid

describes any material that soaks liquids or gases, not only high capacity ones
absorbent
vsabsorbent material
1 3.7

A material like a sponge that soaks up liquids or gases easily

is the longer phrase form describing that material rather than the short name
sorbent
vsabsorbent material
  • Specialized
8.8

A material that soaks up liquids or gases

focuses on soaking up liquids or gases rather than specific uptake mechanisms
sorbent material
vsabsorbent material
  • Specialized
7.1

A material that soaks up liquids and gases

is about the simple ability to soak liquids or gases without mechanism detail
absorbent cotton
vsabsorbent material
3.5

Soft cotton that soaks up liquids for medical or personal care use

is the broad category for any substance that soaks liquids or gases easily

Surface Forms

absorbent material singular
absorbent materials plural

Morphology

absorbent + material

The meaning 'a substance that soaks up liquids or gases' is directly and compositionally derived from 'absorbent' (having capacity to absorb) plus 'material' (a substance), so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the phrase. This is a literal adjective–noun description following common cross‑linguistic composition patterns, making it clearly transparent.

Etymology

The phrase absorbent material comes from a simple image: a sponge or cloth that 'soaks up' water or other liquids. So, absorbent describes something that takes in liquid and material means a substance, which is why the term means 'a substance that soaks up liquids or gases'.