The phrase "absorb the number" is not commonly used in written English and may be unclear in meaning.
It could be used in contexts where one is expected to take in or understand numerical information, but it is not a standard expression.
Example: "In order to complete the calculations, you need to absorb the number provided in the report."
Alternatives: "take in the number" or "understand the number".
In an interview with the Telegraph on Friday, Chris Grayling, the leader of the Commons, said that Britain "cannot possibly absorb" the number of migrants expected to arrive from Europe in the next two decades.
Many whites worry that the state is becoming Mexifornia (there is already a border town called Calexico); that the great Californian melting pot cannot absorb the number of immigrants now washing in.
Once the technique is instituted, the resulting economies of scale give the large firm a commanding advantage, provided of course that the market can absorb the number of vehicles that must be built to justify the investment.
It's easy understand Mason's rationale here, at just one deal a day their hands were somewhat tied, unable to fully absorb the number of interested advertisers.
The market simply can't absorb the number of (shoddily produced) vehicles flooding the hinterlands.
Many women who relied on Planned Parenthood found difficulty going to a new health care provider, as many other clinics simply did not have the resources to absorb the number of patients who originally relied on PP.
We did our best to absorb the numbers, and realized how successful the memorial was at illustrating the gravity of the horrible events.
Lebanon, a country of around 4.4 million and about the same in territorial size as Cyprus, has found it hard to absorb the huge number of Syrians seeking refuge there.
Population increases, rural migration and other economic pressures mean that marginal land expansion will continue to absorb the growing number of rural households in the region.
Herrington et al. (2009) noted that given the failure of the formal and public sector to absorb the growing number of job seekers in a nation, increasing attention had focused on entrepreneurship and new firm creation and its potential for contributing to economic growth and job creation.
