Word.ws English Dictionary

in the drink

in the drink prepositional phrase: in or into a body of water.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) In or into a body of water.
    • "I'm broke. I came down here wondering whether I'd better throw myself in the drink."1907, Samuel Hopkins Adams, Stewart Edward White, chapter 8, in The Mystery
    • "I've been in the drink," and he related the tale of his recent adventures. "Your raftsman saved my life."1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 44, in Kindred of the Dust
  2. (dated, idiomatic, possibly) Under the influence of an intoxicating beverage.
    • [H]e ain't so bad neither, when he's not in the drink. He's sorry he hit me now."1892, W. H. Hudson, chapter 1, in Fan: The Story of a Young Girl's Life
    • "It's no place for the loike o' yez," she said. "An' it black noight, an' men and women wild in the drink; an' Pat Harrigan insoide bloind an' mad in liquor."c. 1893, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Saint Elizabeth
    Synonyms:
    drunk

Examples of in the drink in a sentence

  • When it comes to cameras, the only thing worse than dropping one on the ground is dropping one in the drink.2010 May 24, Peter Ha, “Point, Click, Drop and Dive”, in Time:
  • "I cannot tell what I may have done in the drink.1896, George MacDonald, chapter 12, in Salted With Fire:

Synonyms of in the drink

Questions about in the drink

What does in the drink mean?
In the drink means in or into a body of water.
How do you use in the drink in a sentence?
When it comes to cameras, the only thing worse than dropping one on the ground is dropping one in the drink.
What part of speech is in the drink?
In the drink is a prepositional phrase.

Words near in the drink in the dictionary

  1. in the dark
  2. in the distance
  3. in the dock
  4. in the dogbox
  5. in the doghouse
  6. in the drink
  7. in the driver's seat
  8. in the driving seat
  9. in the dumps
  10. in the ear
  11. in the end

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in the drink (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-in the drink.ogg.

Cite this entry: “in the drink.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_the_drink. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.