Sink and sync are two words that are pronounced in the same manner but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They are homophones. We will look at the definitions of the words sink and sync, where the terms come from and some examples of their use in sentences.
The noun form of the word sink designates a fixed basin with a tap that supplies water and a drain to drain away the water. Used as a verb sink means to descend, especially below water or another liquid, to slope downward, to dip, to go lower, to decline. Sink is used literally and figuratively, related words are sinks, sank, sunk, sinking, sinkable. The word sink is derived from the Old English word sincan, which means to subside or submerge.
Sync means to cause something to occur at the same time, in unison, to agree. The word sync is a shortening of the word synchronization, though it is now considered a word and not an abbreviation. The term sync was first used in the 1920s.
Examples
When we purchased the house, the inspection report noted a gurgling in the sink waste discharge pipe. (The Democrat and Chronicle)
Wasps reclaimed second place in the Aviva Premiership after they shrugged off a number of injuries to sink struggling Worcester at Sixways. (The Daily Mail)
The women are in perfect sync with one another, stepping in unison to a jaunty pop record and raising their hands in the air. (The Mirror)
The clip begins with Drake getting his game face on with a furtive lip-sync to T-Swizzle’s paean to friendship gone up in flames, “Bad Blood,” and ends with a bench press that fails to get air, leaving him sliding onto the floor in a neat homage to the original. (TIME Magazine)
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