Sink vs. Washbasin: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 3, 2023
A "sink" is a plumbing fixture used for washing hands, dishes, and other purposes, while a "washbasin" is specifically designed for washing hands and face. Both have taps and drains but differ in usage and location.
Key Differences
A "sink" is a broad term for a basin with a faucet and a drain, generally used for multiple purposes such as washing hands, rinsing dishes, or even washing clothes in some cases. A "washbasin," however, is more specialized and is typically designed for washing hands and face.
From a grammatical perspective, both "sink" and "washbasin" function as nouns. However, "sink" can also serve as a verb, meaning to descend or to cause to enter a liquid. In contrast, "washbasin" remains solely a noun and has no verb form.
While sinks can be found in various settings like kitchens, utility rooms, and workshops, washbasins are commonly found in bathrooms. The design of a sink can be more complex, often featuring additional accessories like a garbage disposal unit, whereas a washbasin is generally simpler in construction.
Sinks often come in a variety of materials like stainless steel, ceramic, and composite materials. Washbasins are typically made of porcelain or ceramic but can also be made of other materials like stone.
In summary, although both "sink" and "washbasin" refer to a bowl-like fixture with a tap and a drain, the key difference lies in their usage and location. Sinks serve multiple functions and are found in a variety of settings, while washbasins are specialized for washing hands and face and are primarily located in bathrooms.
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Comparison Chart
Grammatical Role
Noun and Verb
Noun only
Primary Location
Kitchens, utility rooms, workshops
Bathrooms
Function
Multiple uses, including washing dishes
Specifically for washing hands and face
Complexity
Can have added features like garbage disposal
Generally simpler in design
Material
Stainless steel, ceramic, composite materials
Typically porcelain or ceramic, sometimes stone
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Sink and Washbasin Definitions
Sink
A fixture for various washing activities.
The utility sink is for laundry.
Washbasin
A vessel with a tap in a restroom.
Turn off the tap when you're done using the washbasin.
Sink
To go below the surface of water or another liquid
We watched the leaky inner tube slowly sink.
Washbasin
A sink primarily for personal hygiene.
The washbasin is made of porcelain.
Sink
To descend to the bottom of a body of water or other liquid
Found the wreck where it had sunk.
Washbasin
A basin for washing hands and face.
There is a washbasin in the restroom.
Sink
To fall or drop to a lower level, especially to go down slowly or in stages
The water in the lake sank several feet during the long, dry summer.
Washbasin
A bathroom fixture with a faucet.
The washbasin has an elegant design.
Sink
To subside or settle gradually
Cracks developed as the building sank.
Washbasin
A small sink in a bathroom.
I brushed my teeth at the washbasin.
Sink
To appear to move downward, as the sun or moon in setting.
Washbasin
See washbowl.
Sink
To slope downward; incline
The road sinks as it approaches the stream.
Washbasin
A basin used for washing, particularly a permanently installed sink, fitted with a water supply and a drain, for washing the hands and face.
Sink
To fall or lower oneself slowly, as from weakness or fatigue
The exhausted runner sank to the ground.
Washbasin
A bathroom or lavatory sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you wash your hands and face;
He ran some water in the basin and splashed it on his face
Sink
To feel great disappointment or discouragement
Her heart sank within her.
Washbasin
A basin for washing the hands (`wash-hand basin' is a British expression)
Sink
To pass into something; penetrate
The claws sank into the flesh of the prey.
Sink
To steep or soak
The wine has sunk into my shirt.
Sink
To pass into a specified condition
She sank into a deep sleep.
Sink
To deteriorate in quality or condition
The patient is sinking fast. The family sank into a state of disgrace.
Sink
To diminish, as in value
Gold prices are sinking.
Sink
To become weaker, quieter, or less forceful
His voice sank to a whisper.
Sink
To make an impression; become felt or understood
The meaning finally sank in.
Sink
To cause to descend beneath the surface or to the bottom of a liquid
Sink a ship.
Sink
To cause to penetrate deeply
He sank his sword into the dragon's belly.
Sink
To force into the ground
Sink a piling.
Sink
To dig or drill (a mine or well) in the earth.
Sink
To cause to drop or lower
Sank the bucket into the well.
Sink
(Sports) To propel (a ball or shot) into a hole, basket, or pocket.
Sink
To cause to be engrossed
"Frank sank himself in another book" (Patricia Highsmith).
Sink
To make weaker, quieter, or less forceful
She sank her voice when the manager walked by.
Sink
To reduce in quantity or worth
The bad news will sink markets around the world.
Sink
To debase the nature of; degrade
The scandal has sunk him in the eyes of many.
Sink
To bring to a low or ruined state; defeat or destroy
Loss of advertising sank the newspaper.
Sink
To suppress or hide
He sank his arrogance and apologized.
Sink
(Informal) To defeat, as in a game.
Sink
To invest or spend, often without getting a return or adequate value
I've sunk a lot of money into that car.
Sink
To pay off (a debt).
Sink
A water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe and generally a piped supply of water.
Sink
A cesspool.
Sink
A sinkhole.
Sink
A natural or artificial means of absorbing or removing a substance or a form of energy from a system.
Sink
A place regarded as wicked and corrupt
That city is a sink of corruption.
Sink
To move or be moved into something.
Sink
(ergative) To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance.
A stone sinks in water.
The sun gradually sank in the west.
Sink
(transitive) To (directly or indirectly) cause a vessel to sink, generally by making it no longer watertight.
An iceberg sank the Titanic.
British battleships sank the Bismarck.
Sink
(transitive) To push (something) into something.
The joint will hold tighter if you sink a wood screw through both boards.
The dog sank its teeth into the delivery man's leg.
Sink
(transitive) To make by digging or delving.
To sink a well in the ground
Sink
To pot; hit a ball into a pocket or hole.
Sink
To diminish or be diminished.
Sink
To experience apprehension, disappointment, dread, or momentary depression.
Sink
To cause to decline; to depress or degrade.
To sink one's reputation
Sink
(intransitive) To demean or lower oneself; to do something below one's status, standards, or morals.
Sink
To conceal and appropriate.
Sink
To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.
Sink
To drink (especially something alcoholic).
Sink
To pay absolutely.
I have sunk thousands of pounds into this project.
Sink
To reduce or extinguish by payment.
To sink the national debt
Sink
(intransitive) To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fail in strength.
Sink
To die.
Sink
(intransitive) To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
Sink
A basin used for holding water for washing.
Sink
A drain for carrying off wastewater.
Sink
(geology) A sinkhole.
Sink
A depression in land where water collects, with no visible outlet.
Sink
A heat sink.
Sink
A place that absorbs resources or energy.
Sink
(ecology) A habitat that cannot support a population on its own but receives the excess of individuals from some other source.
Sink
(uncountable) Descending motion; descent.
An excessive sink rate at touchdown can cause the aircraft's landing gear to collapse.
Sink
(baseball) The motion of a sinker pitch.
Jones has a two-seamer with heavy sink.
Sink
An object or callback that captures events; an event sink.
Sink
(graph theory) A destination vertex in a transportation network.
Sink
An abode of degraded persons; a wretched place.
Sink
A depression in a stereotype plate.
Sink
(theater) A stage trapdoor for shifting scenery.
Sink
(mining) An excavation smaller than a shaft.
Sink
(game development) One or several systems that remove currency from the game's economy, thus controlling or preventing inflation.
Sink
To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west.
I sink in deep mire.
Sink
To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.
The stone sunk into his forehead.
Sink
Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.
Let these sayings sink down into your ears.
Sink
To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.
He sunk down in his chariot.
Let not the fire sink or slacken.
Sink
To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him.
Sink
To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.
[The Athenians] fell upon the wings and sank a single ship.
Sink
Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation.
I raise of sink, imprison or set free.
If I have a conscience, let it sink me.
Thy cruel and unnatural lust of powerHas sunk thy father more than all his years.
Sink
To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.; as, to sink a pit or a well; to sink a die.
Sink
To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste.
You sunk the river repeated draughts.
Sink
To conseal and appropriate.
If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account.
Sink
To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.
A courtly willingness to sink obnoxious truths.
Sink
To reduce or extinguish by payment; as, to sink the national debt.
Sink
A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.
Sink
A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.
Sink
A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; - called also sink hole.
Sink
The lowest part of a natural hollow or closed basin whence the water of one or more streams escapes by evaporation; as, the sink of the Humboldt River.
Sink
Plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe
Sink
(technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy or a substance from a system;
The ocean is a sink for carbon dioxide
Sink
A depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof
Sink
A covered cistern; waste water and sewage flow into it
Sink
Fall or drop to a lower place or level;
He sank to his knees
Sink
Cause to sink;
The Japanese sank American ships in Pearl Harbor
Sink
Pass into a specified state or condition;
He sank into Nirvana
Sink
Go under,
The raft sank and its occupants drowned
Sink
Descend into or as if into some soft substance or place;
He sank into bed
She subsided into the chair
Sink
Appear to move downward;
The sun dipped below the horizon
The setting sun sank below the tree line
Sink
Fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly;
The real estate market fell off
Sink
Fall or sink heavily;
He slumped onto the couch
My spirits sank
Sink
Embed deeply;
She sank her fingers into the soft sand
He buried his head in her lap
Sink
A plumbing fixture used for washing.
Please wash the dishes in the sink.
Sink
A basin with a drain and faucet.
The sink in the workshop is made of stainless steel.
Sink
A bowl-shaped vessel for holding water.
Fill the sink with warm water.
Sink
A depression or hole formed by sinking.
The sinkhole is widening.
FAQs
Can "sink" function as a verb?
Yes, "sink" can also be a verb meaning to descend or submerge.
What is a "washbasin"?
A "washbasin" is a basin with a faucet and drain, primarily used for washing hands and face.
Can "washbasin" function as a verb?
No, "washbasin" is solely a noun.
What is a "sink"?
A "sink" is a plumbing fixture with a basin, faucet, and drain used for various washing activities.
Where are sinks typically found?
Sinks are commonly found in kitchens, utility rooms, and workshops.
Where are washbasins typically found?
Washbasins are generally found in bathrooms.
Can sinks have added features?
Yes, some sinks come with added features like garbage disposals.
Are washbasins complex in design?
Generally, washbasins are simpler in design compared to sinks.
What materials are washbasins commonly made of?
Washbasins are usually made of porcelain or ceramic.
What materials are sinks commonly made of?
Sinks can be made of stainless steel, ceramic, and composite materials.
Are sinks only for washing hands?
No, sinks can be used for various activities including washing dishes and laundry.
Are washbasins used for dishes?
No, washbasins are not designed for washing dishes.
Do all washbasins have drains?
Yes, washbasins come with drains to allow water to flow out.
Do all sinks have faucets?
Almost all sinks come with faucets, but some may require separate installation.
Can "sink" and "washbasin" be used interchangeably?
They can sometimes be used interchangeably, but "sink" is more general and "washbasin" is more specialized.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
