steady
- firmly placed or fixed; stable in position or equilibrium: a steady ladder.
- even or regular in movement: the steady swing of the pendulum.
- free from change, variation, or interruption; uniform; continuous: a steady diet of meat and potatoes; a steady wind.
- constant, regular, or habitual: a steady job.
- free from excitement or agitation; calm: steady nerves.
- firm; unfaltering: a steady gaze; a steady hand.
- steadfast or unwavering; resolute: a steady purpose.
- settled, staid, or sober, as a person, habits, etc.
- Nautical. (of a vessel) keeping nearly upright, as in a heavy sea.
- (used to urge someone to calm down or be under control.)
- Nautical. (a helm order to keep a vessel steady on its present heading.)
- Informal. a person of the opposite sex whom one dates exclusively; sweetheart; boyfriend or girlfriend.
- Informal. a steady visitor, customer, or the like; habitué.
- to make or keep steady, as in position, movement, action, character, etc.: His calm confidence steadied the nervous passengers.
- to become steady.
- in a firm or steady manner: Hold the ladder steady.
- Informal. steadily, regularly, or continuously: Is she working steady now?
- go steady, Informal. to date one person exclusively: Her father didn't approve of her going steady at such an early age.
Origin of steady
Synonyms for steady
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for steady
constant, solid, reliable, safe, substantial, durable, regular, consistent, continuous, persistent, incessant, stable, uninterrupted, unbroken, resolute, fast, dependable, calm, intense, evenExamples from the Web for steady
Contemporary Examples of steady
It is the steady accretion of detail that may yet be the most damaging factor in the battle for British hearts and minds.
Superintendent Smith, in fact, had fielded a steady stream of complaints about him that never resulted in any direct action.
Outside, a lone traffic policeman directs a steady stream of motorbikes.
Activating iPhones promised a lucrative, steady revenue stream for Synchronoss.
For Reid, wealth accumulation has come from a steady diet of land deals and playing the market.
Historical Examples of steady
She stopped the running and meditated with a steady, hard deliberation.
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
His eyes, round and full and steady, taxed her with falsehood, with hypocrisy.
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
Dozier kept Gray Peter at a steady pace, never varying his gait.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
In the next room the voices of the four were a steady, rumbling murmur.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
That sort o' trade, ye see, miss, the demand's not steady in it.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
steady
- not able to be moved or disturbed easily; stable
- free from fluctuationthe level stayed steady
- not easily excited; imperturbable
- staid; sober
- regular; habituala steady drinker
- continuousa steady flow
- nautical (of a vessel) keeping upright, as in heavy seas
- to make or become steady
- in a steady manner
- go steady informal to date one person regularly
- informal one's regular boyfriend or girlfriend
- nautical an order to the helmsman to stay on a steady course
- a warning to keep calm, be careful, etc
- British a command to get set to start, as in a raceready, steady, go!
Word Origin for steady
Word Origin and History for steady
1520s (replacing earlier steadfast), from stead + adjectival suffix -y (2), perhaps on model of Middle Dutch, Middle Low German stadig. Old English had stæððig "grave, serious," and stedig "barren," but neither seems to be the direct source of the modern word. Old Norse cognate stoðugr "steady, stable" was closer in sense.
Originally of things; of persons or minds from c.1600. Meaning "working at an even rate" is first recorded in 1540s. Steady progress is etymologically a contradiction in terms. Steady state first attested 1885; as a cosmological theory (propounded by Bondi, Gold, and Hoyle), it is attested from 1948.
1520s, from steady (adj.). Related: Steadied; steadying.
"one's boyfriend or girlfriend," 1897 from steady (adj.); to go steady is 1905 in teenager slang.
Idioms and Phrases with steady
steady
In addition to the idiom beginning with steady
- steady as a rock
also see:
- go steady
- slow but sure (steady wins the race)