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sink

sink

14 7.9
A place or system that absorbs and stores substances like carbon
  • noun
  • /sɪŋk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sumidero (ecología/medio ambiente)
  • Thus, like Lake Bonney, Lake Hoare appears to serve as a net sink for organic carbon.
  • carbon sink
  • source and sink
  • heat sink

Well, be very careful about the the time sink of it.

Examples

  • Protecting forests will ensure that the region's largest CO2 sink does not become a source of emissions.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Second, the tropical forest is an important sink or repository for carbon dioxide.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Well, your muscles are the biggest sink for fuel.

  • As an international commons, the North Sea functions as a sink for effluents from many nations.

    Academic text (1996)
  • However, only the final, long-term sink for nitrogen is in soils.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Conversely, the forest is a net C sink during the growing season, when ecosystem photosynthesis exceeds respiration.

    Academic text (2008)
  • On the other hand, because dry soils are methane sinks, desertification might reduce the gas's atmospheric concentration.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Engineers often specify air-cooled heat sinks or liquid-cooled cold plates to stabilize high-flux chips thermally.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The forest acts as a natural sink by absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

  • Wetlands serve as an important sink for pollutants, helping to clean the water before it flows into rivers.

Synonyms

absorption
vssink
  • Specialized
21 4.6

A material takes in energy or a substance from another material

includes that process but also means places or systems that remove or store
heat sink
vssink
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A metal part that takes heat away from electronic parts so they do not get too hot

is broader, covering any process, place, or reservoir that removes energy or substances

Antonyms

2.6

A place or thing where something comes from

Idioms

2 6.7

Fall or fail very quickly and completely

A way to say there are almost all things you can think of

7.7

A warning that careless talk can cause trouble by revealing secrets

Almost everything possible is present, even things you do not need

To fail very quickly and completely with no chance to get better

8.2

To get stuck in a problem that keeps getting worse and is hard to leave

Compounds

9 1.0

A large basin with a tap in a kitchen used for washing dishes

kitchen sink
  • Informal
2 4.2

A very large number of things, often including items that are not needed

heat sink
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A metal part that takes heat away from electronic parts so they do not get too hot

A software bug that affects many parts after a code change

2.5

A small stopper that blocks a sink drain so water stays in the basin

Surface Forms

sink singular
sinks plural

Etymology

Sink comes from the Old English word sincan meaning 'to go down'. In science a sink is something that 'takes in' or holds a substance or energy (think of a heat sink or a 'carbon sink'), because it makes those things go 'down' out of the system.