From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
soaking
adj : wet through and through; thoroughly wet; "stood at the door
drenched (or soaked) by the rain"; "a shirt saturated
with perspiration"; "his shoes were sopping (or
soaking)"; "the speaker's sodden collar"; "soppy
clothes" [syn: drenched, saturated, soaked,
sodden, sopping, soppy]
n 1: the process of becoming softened and saturated as a
consequence of being immersed in water (or other
liquid); "a good soak put life back in the wagon" [syn:
soak, soakage]
2: the act of making something completely wet; "he gave it a
good drenching" [syn: drenching, souse, sousing]
3: washing something by allowing it to soak [syn: soak]
adv : extremely wet; "dripping wet"; "soaking wet" [syn:
sopping, dripping]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Soaking \Soak"ing\, a.
Wetting thoroughly; drenching; as, a soaking rain. --
Soak"ing*ly, adv.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Soak \Soak\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soaked; p. pr. & vb. n.
Soaking.] [OE. soken, AS. socian to sioak, steep, fr.
s?can, s?gan, to suck. See Suck.]
1. To cause or suffer to lie in a fluid till the substance
has imbibed what it can contain; to macerate in water or
other liquid; to steep, as for the purpose of softening or
freshening; as, to soak cloth; to soak bread; to soak salt
meat, salt fish, or the like.
[1913 Webster]
2. To drench; to wet thoroughly.
[1913 Webster]
Their land shall be soaked with blood. --Isa. xxiv.
7.
[1913 Webster]
3. To draw in by the pores, or through small passages; as, a
sponge soaks up water; the skin soaks in moisture.
[1913 Webster]
4. To make (its way) by entering pores or interstices; --
often with through.
[1913 Webster]
The rivulet beneath soaked its way obscurely through
wreaths of snow. --Sir W.
Scott.
[1913 Webster]
5. Fig.: To absorb; to drain. [Obs.] --Sir H. Wotton.
[1913 Webster]