Take in with the eye of a sailor (6)
I believe the answer is:
absorb
'take in' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'eye of a sailor' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'eye' could be 'orb' (I've seen this before) and 'orb' is located in the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'with the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for absorb that I've seen before include "'Imbibe, assimilate (6)'" , "Soak up (liquid)" , "Carved figure" , "Assimilate, ingest" , "Assimilate or soak up" .)