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Synonyms

steamer

American  
[stee-mer] / ˈsti mər /

noun

  • steamers
    plural
  1. something propelled or operated by steam, as a steamship.

  2. a person or thing that steams.

  3. a device, pot, or container in which something is steamed.

  4. soft-shell clam.


verb (used without object)

  1. to travel by steamship.

steamer British  
/ ˈstiːmə /

noun

  1. a boat or ship driven by steam engines

  2. Also called: steam box. an apparatus for steaming wooden beams and planks to make them pliable for shipbuilding

  3. a vessel used to cook food by steam

  4. slang a clash of sporting teams characterized by rough play

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of steamer

First recorded in 1805–15; steam + -er 1


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

With little formal education, Mulholland had left his native Ireland in his teens, worked steamer ships on the Great Lakes, labored in lumber camps and prospected for gold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

These are foam or gel-filled toys of various brands shaped like bao buns, and sometimes sold in plastic replicas of bamboo steamer baskets.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Sporting what they regard as a face “the color of boiled turnips,” he is first discovered sitting on a steamer trunk in the hall, ripe to be menaced by the family’s dogs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

"William was on the sprouts, getting his sprouts ready so they could go into the steamer, and Prince George was helping with the Yorkshire puddings," said Mr Clarke.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025

The harpy had made a nest for herself between two old steamer trunks.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

Portable steamers are cheap and easy to use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

The market also offers workshops to make shower steamers and toilet cleaning tabs in partnership with Seattle Zero Waste.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

For the past 20 years she has instead worked maintaining electrical items, such as water purifiers and clothes steamers, in people's homes.

From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2022

Maybe she skimped on verbal and physical affection, favoring a love language that expressed itself in steamers full of dumplings or plates of sliced fruit.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2022

They are inward toward the other, bound and joined by carnival dolls and the steamers that sailed from ports they never saw.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

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