Take in sailor's world (6)
I believe the answer is:
absorb
'take in' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'sailor's world' is the wordplay.
'sailor's' becomes 'ab's' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'world' becomes 'orb' (I have seen 'The World' mean 'orb' so perhaps 'world' could also mean 'orb').
'abs'+'orb'='ABSORB'
(Other definitions for absorb that I've seen before include "hold" , "Carved figure" , "Suck up or take in" , "'Imbibe, assimilate (6)'" , "Assimilate, integrate" .)