Sinking ship

Question

To save their lives, the sailors had to abandon the sinking ship.I've just found the adjective sink in the dictionary, so the correct statement wouldn't be abandon the sink ship ?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

MikaelI've just found the adjective sink in the dictionary

It's not in my dictionary as an adjective. What is the meaning given for the "adjective" sink in your dictionary?

This usage is taken from the verb sink, so the correct adjective is sinking.

CJ

Mikael · Answer

CalifJim
MikaelI've just found the adjective sink in the dictionary
It's not in my dictionary as an adjective. What is the meaning given for the "adjective" sink in your dictionary?

This usage is taken from the verb sink, so the correct adjective is sinking.

CJ

The meaning is:

adjective

[only before noun] (BrE) located in a poor area where social conditions are bad:
the misery of life in sink estates / a sink school

The dictionary also treats sink as verb both and noun.
When I type sinking in it, it returns the word sink (there isn't the word sinking in it)

The dictionary is Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary

AlpheccaStars · Answer

The reason why the sailors are leaving the ship is because it soon will be at the bottom of the sea. If they don't escape, they will drown. They would not abandon the ship because its socio-economic status is in question. That does not make any sense in context. Thus, the correct adjective is the present participle of the verb "sink" - sinking.
"Sink" as a noun is the place in the bathroom or kitchen where you wash your hands or dishes.
The verb forms of "sink" are:
sink, sank, sunk, sinking. These forms should be listed in your dictionary.

Note: "ing" can be added to a verb to make the present participle. This verb form can be used as an adjective. You will learn this in an English grammar class.

Clive · Answer

Hi,
A sink estate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sink_estate

This use of 'sink' seems a very unusual and specialized one that has arisen in the context of British social problems.

Unless you want to speak specifically about British social problems, my advice is to just forget about 'sink' as an adjective.

Clive

AlpheccaStars · Answer

And there is also the specialized use as "sink hole," also written sinkhole which is a collapsed shallow limestone cavern. In Pennsylvania, houses are swallowed by sinkholes. It is also used figuratively as a "bottomless pit" for wasting large amounts of money.
Other than these very special uses, I agree with Clive. Forget about using "sink" as an adjective.

Sinking ship

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