immerse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
immerses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
immersed,
past participle, past
-
immersing
present participle
verb
-
(often foll by in) to plunge or dip into liquid
-
to involve deeply; engross
to immerse oneself in a problem
-
to baptize by immersion
Synonym Usage
See dip 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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immersesimple
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immersessimple
-
have immersedperfect
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has immersedperfect
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am immersingprogressive
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are immersingprogressive
-
is immersingprogressive
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have been immersingperfect progressive
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has been immersingperfect progressive
Past
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immersedsimple
-
had immersedperfect
-
was immersingprogressive
-
were immersingprogressive
-
had been immersingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of immerse
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin immersus “plunged, sunken into,” past participle of immergere “to dip, plunge, sink into”; see immerge
Explanation
If you immerse yourself in your work, you completely involve yourself in it, spending long hours in the office and thinking about work all the time. Immerse can also mean to submerge in a liquid. A science experiment might tell you to immerse a piece of paper completely in water. If you are a swimmer immersed in a rigorous training regimen, you might be immersing yourself in the pool several times a day.
Vocabulary lists containing immerse
ACT Vocabulary List
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With the Fire on High
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"Speaking Up"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
People can type on a digital keyboard, play games and immerse themselves in a concert or basketball game as they watch a massive screen through the glasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
“I like to immerse myself and have a real experience and hopefully make it funny so it’s like a spoonful of sugar for the audience as they learn something.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
They now plan to turn the property into a holiday let, where fellow fans can literally immerse themselves in the show.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Sometimes it really is as simple as putting on the wig or turning on a movie to immerse yourself in an experience beyond your own.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
That to immerse myself in their groupings is to emerge the most normal, as well.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
“It really immerses you into the intensity of these films, where you’re up close and personal with these characters.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Ms. Sampson, a professor emerita of poetry at the University of Roehampton, expertly immerses readers in the cultural and intellectual world that produced one of the greatest practitioners of 19th-century literature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Rob is that kind of actor where he immerses himself so deeply you sort of don't know where he ends and the character begins," Evans said.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Her 2011 novel “Salvage the Bones,” set in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina, immerses the reader in a world full of suffering but telegraphs something profound about human dignity and care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
His father takes his hand and holds him while he immerses him completely in the muddy water and quickly pulls him back up, dripping.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
Captured at Wolverhampton's Culture Centre in 1978, the image shows her among a group of young people immersed in a night of music and dancing.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
“So I fully see him, now that he is completely immersed into our culture, where the first month was trying to feel his way: ‘Where do I fit in?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
They placed the lenses over rabbit eyeballs immersed in a saline solution intended to mimic natural tears.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
She then immersed herself in the Social Democratic party, whose youth league she joined when she was 16.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
I hoped whatever thoughts he was immersed in were leading him in the right direction.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
This involves immersing oneself in water that is below 15°C to boost recovery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Flores describes “Ritchie Forever” as a “multimedia experience, going back in time with sound and immersing in the history.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
There has been no shortage of photos or clips on social media of the Scotland squad immersing themselves in the feel-good factor the Tartan Army have brought to Boston in the last number of days.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
In “I Am Not a Robot,” she amusingly explores “what this world-changing technology actually means for us and our children” by immersing herself in AI for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
At home, I lived in a world of high drama and intrigue, immersing myself in an ever-evolving soap opera of dolls.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
