seep

[ seep ]

/ sip /

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See synonyms for: seep / seeped on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to pass, flow, or ooze gradually through a porous substance: Water seeps through cracks in the wall.

(of ideas, methods, etc.) to enter or be introduced at a slow pace: The new ideas finally seeped down to the lower echelons.

to become diffused; permeate: Fog seeped through the trees, obliterating everything.

verb (used with object)

to cause to seep; filter: The vodka is seeped through charcoal to purify it.

noun

moisture that seeps out; seepage.

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

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Origin of seep

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use seep in a sentence

Like underground tea kettles blowing their tops, seeps of gas, mud, oil and rock erupted in a dozen oil fields.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
Berry first told the inspectors the spills were natural seeps, but it has since voluntarily removed major rusted pipes and other debris, and has plugged and abandoned 10 nearby wells.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
His own, personal neck and chest were compressed by five other men until 43 years of life and spirit seeped away.
The Day I Used Eric Garner’s Voice|Joshua DuBois|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was a simple formula, really, and it seeped into my consciousness without me even realizing it.
No More Coddling!|Joanne Lipman|October 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The paranoia he unleashed was so overwhelming that it seeped into every pore of society, including the Pendle witch trials.
This Week’s Hot Reads: Sept. 30, 2013|Thomas Flynn, Jimmy So|September 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Ditching the bleach, he seeped manly confidence with what appears to be a samurai ponytail.
Roger Federer’s Hair Evolution|Sujay Kumar|June 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When news seeped out that a reboot was in the works, loyalists were skeptical, even indignant.
‘Evil Dead’ Remake Pays Homage to a Horror Cult Classic|Jean Trinh|April 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A trace of light had begun to soften the sky over the dome, but had not yet seeped down to ground level.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
Oh, yes, the neighbors certainly got an earful, as the town gossips proved when the divorce suit seeped into the papers.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower
Enough of it seeped to Joe's ears to make him twist his mustache quite furiously when he came out of the telephone booth.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower
From the amount of moisture already seeped into the tracks I estimated the two of them had stood there within thirty minutes.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
The melody of the dance music which all along had seeped to them in harmonic murmur from the distant ballroom was now hushed.
The Tigress|Anne Warner

British Dictionary definitions for seep

seep

/ (siːp) /

verb

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

noun

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

another word for seepage

Word Origin for seep

Old English sīpian; related to Middle High German sīfen, Swedish dialect sipa

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

seep

Origin of seep

Words related to seep

How to use seep in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for seep

Word Origin for seep