Function absorbed by meet (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
run into
'meet' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'function absorbed' is the wordplay.
'function' becomes 'run' (running is a kind of functioning).
'absorbed' becomes 'into' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'run'+'into'='RUN INTO'
'by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for run into that I've seen before include "Happen to meet - with a bump?" , "Meet (someone) unexpectedly" , "Encounter (someone)" , "Encounter by chance - or collision?" , "Meet (a person) by chance" .)