adsorb

[ad-sawrb, -zawrb] /ædˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb/
verb (used with object), Physical Chemistry
1.
to gather (a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance) on a surface in a condensed layer:
Charcoal will adsorb gases.
Origin
1880-85; ad- + (ab)sorb
Related forms
adsorbable, adjective
adsorbability, noun
adsorbent, adjective, noun
adsorption
[ad-sawrp-shuh n, -zawrp-] /ædˈsɔrp ʃən, -ˈzɔrp-/ (Show IPA), noun
adsorptive, adjective
adsorptively, adverb
Can be confused
absorb, adsorb.
British Dictionary definitions for adsorb

adsorb

/ədˈsɔːb; -ˈzɔːb/
verb
1.
to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a substance, usually a gas, accumulates on the surface of a solid forming a thin film, often only one molecule thick: to adsorb hydrogen on nickel, oxygen adsorbs on tungsten Compare absorb (sense 8)
Derived Forms
adsorbable, adjective
adsorbability, noun
adsorption, noun
Word Origin
C19: ad- + -sorb as in absorb
Word Origin and History for adsorb
v.

1882, transitive (intransitive use attested from 1919), back-formation from adsorption (1882), coined in German from ad- + -sorption, abstracted from absorption. See absorb. Related: Adsorbent; adsorption.

adsorb in Medicine

adsorb ad·sorb (ād-sôrb', -zôrb')
v. ad·sorbed, ad·sorb·ing, ad·sorbs
To take up by adsorption.