steep
Use Steep in a sentence
adjective
1.
having an almost vertical slope or pitch, or a relatively high gradient, as a hill, an ascent, stairs, etc.
2.
(of a price or amount) unduly high; exorbitant: Those prices are too steep for me.
3.
extreme or incredible, as a statement or story.
4.
high or lofty.
noun
5.
a steep place; declivity, as of a hill.
00:10
Steep
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Related forms
steep·ly, adverb
steep·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to soak in water or other liquid, as to soften, cleanse, or extract some constituent: to steep tea in boiling-hot water; to steep reeds for basket weaving.
2.
to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue.
3.
to immerse in or saturate or imbue with some pervading, absorbing, or stupefying influence or agency: an incident steeped in mystery.
verb (used without object)
4.
to lie soaking in a liquid.
noun
5.
the act or process of steeping or the state of being steeped.
6.
a liquid in which something is steeped.
Origin:
1350–1400; (v.) Middle English stepen < ?; compare Swedish stöpa; (noun) late Middle English stepe, derivative of the v.
1350–1400; (v.) Middle English stepen < ?; compare Swedish stöpa; (noun) late Middle English stepe, derivative of the v.
Related forms
steep·er, noun
un·steeped, adjective
Synonyms
1. infuse. 2. permeate. 3. bury, engulf.
1. infuse. 2. permeate. 3. bury, engulf.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To steep
Collins
World English Dictionary
steep1 (stiːp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | a. having or being a slope or gradient approaching the perpendicular |
| b. (as noun): the steep | |
| 2. | informal (of a fee, price, demand, etc) unduly high; unreasonable (esp in the phrase that's a bit steep) |
| 3. | informal excessively demanding or ambitious: a steep task |
| 4. | informal (Brit) (of a statement) extreme or far-fetched |
| 5. | obsolete elevated |
| [Old English steap; related to Old Frisian stāp, Old High German stouf cliff, Old Norse staup] | |
| 'steeply1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'steepness1 | |
| —n | |
| steep2 (stiːp) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to soak or be soaked in a liquid in order to soften, cleanse, extract an element, etc |
| 2. | (tr; usually passive) to saturate; imbue: steeped in ideology |
| —n | |
| 3. | an instance or the process of steeping or the condition of being steeped |
| 4. | a liquid or solution used for the purpose of steeping something |
| [Old English stēpan; related to steap vessel, cup, Old High German stouf, Old Norse staup, Middle Dutch stōp] | |
| 'steeper2 | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
steep
"having a sharp slope," O.E. steap "high, lofty," from P.Gmc. *staupaz (cf. O.Fris. stap, M.H.G. *stouf), from PIE *steup- "to push, stick, knock, beat," with derivations referring to projecting objects (cf. Gk. typtein "to strike," typos "a blow, mold, die;" Skt. tup- "harm," tundate "pushes, stabs;"
Goth. stautan "push;" O.N. stuttr "short"). The sense of "precipitous" is from c.1200. The slang sense "at a high price" is a U.S. coinage first attested 1856.
steep
"to soak in a liquid," late 14c., of uncertain origin, originally in reference to barley or malt, probably cognate with O.N. steypa "to pour out, throw" (or an unrecorded O.E. cognate), from P.Gmc. *staupijanan. Related: Steeped; steeping.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
steep definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
In addition, endowment cushions that allowed colleges to engage in steep tuition discounting are gone.
Services are few, and signs warn of everything from steep grades to avalanches.
The decline in new-car purchases has been so steep that the average life of a car on the road today is at a historic high.
The angle the wind would have to follow across the wing is too steep.
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