From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsoaksoak1 /səʊk $ soʊk/ ●●○ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]DFCDHC if you soak something, or if you let it soak, you keep it covered with a liquid for a period of time, especially in order to make it softer or easier to clean Soak the clothes in cold water. Let the pans soak; I’ll wash them later.soak something off/out (=remove it by soaking) Put the bottle in soapy water to soak the label off.2 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, transitive]WET to make something completely wet Police aimed water hoses at the marchers, soaking them.soak through/into etc The blood soaked through the bandage.soak something in/with something a rag soaked with oil3 [intransitive]DCB to spend a long time taking a bath Soak in a warm bath to relax.4 [transitive] informalPETEXPENSIVE to make someone pay too much money in prices or taxes taxes that soak the middle classes → soak something ↔ up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
soak• If you don't take your umbrella, you're going to get soaked.• Soak a piece of cotton in water and use it to clean the wound.• Let the pan soak a while before you scrub it.• Tough stains should be soaked before washing.• In a cabin soaked in pure oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure for five hours, almost anything bums.• The rain had come in through the bottom of our tent and completely soaked our clothes.• Soak the beans overnight before cooking.• a tax designed to soak the rich• One side of his immaculate jacket was soaked through and spiked with broken glass.• Other ethnic groups also seem to have trooped to Azusa Street to soak up the new shower of blessing.• Others will take it easier, relax in the garden and soak up the sun.• Her dress soaked up the water from his body.• We lay on the glossy sand as the waves rustled up, soaked us and retreated.soak something off/out• Soak the label off the jar.soak through/into etc• One side of his immaculate jacket was soaked through and spiked with broken glass.• Donna could feel perspiration soaking into her blouse and droplets beading on her forehead.• Sweating profusely, soaking through his robe, Havens raises his ax in triumph and walks off the makeshift stage.• A piece of shrapnel had torn into his belly and the blood had soaked through the field dressing and was attracting flies.• I lost the edges of myself and began to soak into the floorboards.• When the water drops, the substances drift back along the passageways and soak into the water table.• It was the wickedness that soaks into your blood and slowly heats up and begins to boil.• You were already soaking wet from sweating, so the dust would just soak into your clothes and your skin.soaksoak2 noun [singular] 1 DCBa long and enjoyable time spent taking a bath I had a good long soak in the bath.2 DHCWASH British English when you soak something Give the towels a good soak, they’re very dirty.3 → an old soakExamples from the Corpus
soak• She puts them in the washing machine, on long soak, and removes every trace.had ... soak• He claimed to have been painting; he also had trousers soaked in red lead.• Sweat, rapidly cooling, had soaked his pyjamas.• The Deans, retirees in their 60s, say firefighters had soaked the land near their house and saved it.• Paul D looked at the spot where the grief had soaked him.• If he had soaked this magic in as a child, then the faint outlines of Xanadu could be discerned.• Like her riding dress, it had been soaked and roughly dried.• The rain had soaked into his cloak as he slept, and it hung in heavy damp folds on his shoulders.• Despite having been in the open for only a few seconds, they had been soaked.Origin soak1 Old English socian 