seep

American  

[seep] / sip /

verb (used without object)

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)

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

Etymology

Origin of seep

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

Example Sentences

The lull in action seeped into the stands.

From BBC

Frustration seeps from most conversations in east Durham.

From BBC

Tiny cracks in the road surface – usually caused by traffic – allow water to seep in.

From BBC

Long before its buttery aroma seeped into the upholstery of American theaters, the snack lived a humbler life.

From The Wall Street Journal

From frequent Ukrainian retaliatory drone attacks to army recruitment adverts around the city, the conflict has gradually seeped into daily life.

From Barron's

Related Words

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