Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SINK, v.t.

1. To put under water; to immerse in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.
2. To make by digging or delving; as, to sink a pit or a well.
3. To depress; to degrade. His vices sink him in infamy, or in public estimation.
4. To plunge into destruction. If I have a conscience, let it sink me. – Shak.
5. To cause to fall or to be plunged. – Woodward.
6. To bring low; to reduce in quantity. You sunk the river with repeated draughts. – Addison.
7. To depress; to overbear; to crush. This would sink the spirit of a hero.
8. To diminish; to lower or lessen; to degrade. I mean not that we should sink our figure out of covetousness. – Rogers.
9. To cause to decline or fail. Thy cruel and unnat'ral lust of power / Has sunk thy father more than all his years. – Rowe.
10. To suppress; to conceal; to intervert. If sent with ready money to buy any thing, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account. [Unusual.] – Swift.
11. To depress; to lower in value or amount. Great importations may sink the price of goods.
12. To reduce; to pay; to diminish or annihilate by payment; as, to sink the national debt.
13. To waste; to dissipate; as, to sink an estate.