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

And not just in U.S. stocks; AI’s impact on the investment landscape has started to seep into other markets like credit and emerging markets.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

As a scholar of conspiracy theories and extremism, I’ve watched QAnon seep from the margins into mainstream American politics over the past decade.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

On the east side, the dam was build atop an ancient landslide of mica schist, a type of rock vulnerable to fracturing that would allow moisture to seep inside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The internet reshaped the foundations of business, work and global competition but needed 10 to 15 years to seep into the bones of the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Grease stains were beginning to seep through the wrapping—“there’s even dinner in it for you.”

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

But that feeling of being squeezed seeps into public discourse in other ways.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

“Practical Magic 2” is the story of an ancient recurring curse: the lack of originality that infests Hollywood like the frosty cloud that seeps into Regan’s bedroom in “The Exorcist.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026

What starts as isolated selling gradually seeps into stronger groups such as semiconductors, which had previously led the advance.

From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026

November seeps into December and people replace their gourds and pumpkins with Santa hats and snowmen.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

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 rain was so much colder now and the damp seeped through our clothes.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Some experts have also posited that being rude to AI chatbots could adversely impact human communication, by seeping into how we talk to and treat others.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Though Warsh didn’t say so explicitly, this looks like an indication that higher energy prices are seeping into broader inflation pressures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 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

Maybe I heard a poem, seeping from its cracks.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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Related Words

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