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[ verb ] take up as if with a sponge
Used in print (Dolores Hitchens, Footsteps in the Night....)When he turned into the highway that led to the outskirts of the city and then rose toward home , he had to pull over to the curb and wait for a_few minutes , sucking_in air and squinting and blinking his eyes to clear them of tears . (Richard S. Prather, "The Bawdy Beautiful," Cavalier...)Deputy coroner says it looks like he sucked_in a big pile of those thick suds and strangled on ' em . Related terms |
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[ verb ] attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc.
Synonyms Examples "The current boom in the economy sucked many workers in from abroad" Used in print (Bruce Palmer, "My Brother's Keeper", Many Are...)Watson ran up the ladder and stood for a second sucking_in the cool air that smelled of mud and river weeds . |
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[ verb ] draw in as if by suction
Synonyms Examples "suck in your cheeks and stomach" Used in print (Breni James, Nights of the Kill....)He sucked_in his breath and kept quiet while Killpath laid down the sheet again , wound the gold wire stems of his glasses around his ears and_then , eying the report as it lay before him on the desk , intoned , `` Acting_Lieutenant_Gunnar_Matson one failed to see that the station_keeper was properly relieved two absented himself throughout the entire watch without checking on the station 's activities or the whereabouts of his section sergeants three permitted members of the Homicide_Detail of the Inspector's_Bureau to arrogate for their own convenience a patrolman who was thereby prevented from carrying_on his proper assignment four failed to notify the station commander Acting_Captain_O._T._Killpath of a homicide occurring in the district five frequented extralegal establishments known_as after-hours spots for purposes of an unofficial and purportedly social nature and six '' - he leaned_back and peeled_off his glasses `` - failed to co-operate with the Acting_Captain by returning promptly when so ordered . |
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