imbibition vs soaking up

imbibition and soaking up both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
imbibition	Yes	No	No	No
soaking up	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, soaking up is a hypernym of imbibition; that is, soaking up is a word with a broader meaning than imbibition:

imbibition: (chemistry) the absorption of a liquid by a solid or gel
soaking up: (chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid

Other hypernyms of imbibition include absorption.

imbibition (noun)	soaking up (noun)
the act of consuming liquids	(chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid
(chemistry) the absorption of a liquid by a solid or gel