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steep

 - 7 dictionary results

steep

1  [steep] ,adjective, -er, -est, noun
–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.
Use steep in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME stepe (adj.), OE stēap; akin to stoop 1

Related forms:
steeply, adverb
steepness, noun

steep

2  [steep] ,
–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.) ME stepen < ?; cf. Sw stöpa; (n.) late ME stepe, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
steeper, noun

Synonyms:
1. infuse. 2. permeate. 3. bury, engulf.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To steep
steep 1   (stēp)   
adj.   steep·er, steep·est

  1. Having a sharp inclination; precipitous.

  2. At a rapid or precipitous rate: a steep rise in salaries.

    1. Excessive; stiff: a steep price.

    2. Ambitious; difficult: a steep undertaking.

n.  A precipitous slope.

[Middle English stepe, from Old English stēap.]
steep'ly adv., steep'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean so sharply inclined as to be almost perpendicular: steep cliffs; an abrupt drop-off; precipitous hills; a sheer descent.
steep 2   (stēp)   
v.   steeped, steep·ing, steeps

v.   tr.

  1. To soak in liquid in order to cleanse, soften, or extract a given property from.

  2. To infuse or subject thoroughly to.

  3. To make thoroughly wet; saturate.

v.   intr.
To undergo a soaking in liquid.
n.  

    1. The act or process of steeping.

    2. The state of being steeped.

  2. A liquid, bath, or solution in which something is steeped.


[Middle English stepen, perhaps of Old English origin.]
steep'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
steep

  1. mod.
    [of a price] high; expensive. : Their prices are pretty steep, but their goods are of high quality.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

steep  (adj.)
"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  (v.)
"to soak in a liquid," 1390, of uncertain origin, originally in ref. to barley or malt, probably cognate with O.N. steypa "to pour out, throw" (or an unrecorded O.E. cognate), from P.Gmc. *staupijanan.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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