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

Etymology

Origin of seep

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

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

But I wanted the miso butter to seep into the bread, not merely sit on top of it.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

At the same time, groundwater and rainwater that seep underground must be collected and pumped back to the surface.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026

The conversation could seep outside Switzerland’s borders as well.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

Higher gasoline prices have started to seep into other parts of the economy, and consumer sentiment has reached all-time lows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Whatever emanations may seep from them at night, he will be impervious to them.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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

From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026

It becomes the dish’s first layer of seasoning — not something added at the end, but something that seeps outward.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026

Frustration seeps from most conversations in east Durham.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

When it rains, moisture seeps into fissures in the road and weakens the asphalt, which can break apart and buckle under the weight of passing cars and trucks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

I glance back to see him sink onto the stool again and a familiar feeling seeps into my chest.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

It said it suspected the pipes had leaked sewage into the ground, contaminating groundwater which then seeped into the bay.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

The Cornell team’s legend has seeped into SpaceX, in part through the trio of executives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

That has really seeped into the way that I do business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

Experts are particularly concerned about how this content has seeped into the algorithms of young people.

From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026

A dense swampy mist seeped out of the bag, and her wrists were bound with several loops of twine.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Oil prices had not jumped too sharply, he said, while there were no major signs of knock-on effects in the eurozone, such as higher inflation seeping through to a wider range of goods and services.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Seal up air leaks: Inexpensive weatherstripping and caulking around leaky doors and windows stop hot air from seeping in and forcing your AC to run longer.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

There’s the grief, seeping into Maxine’s life and twisting itself around the gratitude, tightening its grip.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

In 1928, the initial discovery of the rock art was dismissed as "red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art", the Guardian reported at the time.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

She couldn’t even strike it without some of its foulness seeping into her, draining her life force.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• bleed
• drain
• flow
• ooze
• percolate
• permeate
• soak
• trickle