live steam
Americannoun
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steam direct from the boiler and at full pressure, ready for use in work.
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steam that has performed no work or only part of its work.
noun
Etymology
Origin of live steam
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
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.
Workman Dave Kirkwood sprays live steam rocks at the harbor at Santa Barbara breakwater to clear oil smears.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2025
Huge projectors show a live steam from mission control.
From Washington Post • Feb. 18, 2021
Before that he had started to pipe live steam underground to supply Manhattan buildings with heat.
From Time Magazine Archive
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But inextinguishable firebrand David Alfaro Siqueiros had summoned up enough live steam and hot lava to make plenty of activity.
From Time Magazine Archive
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The men used jets of live steam to thaw dirt and prevent newly poured cement from freezing.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.