Absorb popular joke, we hear (6)
I believe the answer is:
ingest
'absorb' is the definition.
(I know that absorb can be written as ingest)
'popular joke we hear' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in' (something that's 'in' is fashionable).
'joke' becomes 'jest' (synonyms).
'we hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'jest' sounds like 'gest'.
'in'+'gest'='INGEST'
(Other definitions for ingest that I've seen before include "Take nourishment into the body" , "Absorb, assimilate" , "Swallow -signet (anag)" , "Swallow, absorb" , "Take in with tinges" .)