seep

American  

[seep] / sip /

verb (used without object)

• seeps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• seeped,
  past participle,  past
• seeping
  present participle

1. to pass, flow, or ooze gradually through a porous substance.

   Water seeps through cracks in the wall.

2. (of ideas, methods, etc.) to enter or be introduced at a slow pace.

   The new ideas finally seeped down to the lower echelons.

3. to become diffused; permeate.

   Fog seeped through the trees, obliterating everything.

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verb (used with object)

• seeps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• seeped,
  past participle,  past
• seeping
  present participle

1. to cause to seep; filter.

   The vodka is seeped through charcoal to purify it.

noun

1. moisture that seeps out; seepage.

2. a small spring, pool, or other place where liquid from the ground has oozed to the surface of the earth.

seep British  

/ siːp /

verb

1. (intr) to pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings; ooze

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noun

1. a small spring or place where water, oil, etc, has oozed through the ground

2. another word for seepage

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• seeping
  present
• seeped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• seep
  simple
• seeps
  simple
• have seeped
  perfect
• has seeped
  perfect
• am seeping
  progressive
• are seeping
  progressive
• is seeping
  progressive
• have been seeping
  perfect progressive
• has been seeping
  perfect progressive

Past

• seeped
  simple
• had seeped
  perfect
• was seeping
  progressive
• were seeping
  progressive
• had been seeping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will seep
  simple
• will have seeped
  perfect
• will be seeping
  progressive
• will have been seeping
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of seep

1780–90; perhaps variant of dial. sipe, itself perhaps continuing Old English sīpian (cognate with Middle Low German sīpen )

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Explanation

Seep means to leak slowly. When you see the word, imagine water coming in through your sneakers on a rainy day. It's not a lot of water, but your feet still get pretty wet. The word seep is related to the Dutch word for ooze. Oil seeps from the earth and blood seeps from a wound. Seep falls somewhere between gush and drip on a scale of how liquid flows and suggests a liquid that is thick, and unwanted. In the figurative sense, some things that seep, like bad thoughts that seep into your mind, are also unwanted. But sometimes you wish that the flow would increase like when financial aid only seeps into a disaster zone.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seep seeps seeped seeping

Here, Fennell asserts that rape culture is our culture, that patriarchy and misogyny seep through the cracks of every single surface.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

This time around, Karol G released “BbY Wow” at the tail end of July, allowing it just enough time to seep into the brains of all its listeners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

But you can’t let that seep into how you communicate with him.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

It wasn’t watertight, which allowed water to seep in and damage the concrete, the complaint said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

I had this idea at the time—and I was probably right—that if our sense of the essays being important was allowed to seep away, then so too would whatever bound us together as Hailsham students.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

At times, oil seeps through the rudimentary pipework, sending the black goo into the kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Like all dams, there are little seeps here and there,” Mulholland would later testify at a coroner’s inquest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some of the animals seen by the scientists also live in hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, suggesting whale carcasses could help connect these deep-sea communities.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

Researchers also found evidence that seawater seeps deep into these fractured zones.

From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026

And slowly, it seeps in—like water on a boat.

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi

But rather than being a harbinger of doom, Emanuel says, the shift is more a reflection of how AI-related risks have seeped into other markets, such as emerging-market stocks, bonds and corporate credit.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

But with power cuts and labour shortages crippling production capacity, the impact of the war has seeped into the daily reality at Chizay, one of the country's most well known producers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Someone slid open the door and I climbed inside, but too much dust had seeped in, and it was still difficult to breathe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

The gleeful melodies of the church choir practicing next door seeped in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

It seeped, then shined, then pooled on the ground, then spilled from the edges.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

Economists are paying attention to food for signs that higher transportation costs are seeping through to prices of goods like meat and dairy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Sweat is seeping through his T-shirt, forming wing-like patches over his shoulder blades.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Another 39 homes saw water seeping in below the floorboards.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Lineage contractors installed air filtration systems to reduce the amount of air contaminants seeping out of the warehouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

It was a quiet ride with nothing but the whin whin of the air conditioner, a ssssss that sounded more like air leaking out of something than seeping into it.

From "Sunny" by Jason Reynolds

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