steam
water in the form of an invisible gas or vapor.
water changed to this form by boiling, extensively used for the generation of mechanical power, for heating purposes, etc.
the mist formed when the gas or vapor from boiling water condenses in the air.
an exhalation of a vapor or mist.
Informal. power or energy.
to emit or give off steam or vapor.
to rise or pass off in the form of steam or vapor.
to become covered with condensed steam, as a window or other surface (often followed by up).
to generate or produce steam, as in a boiler.
to move or travel by the agency of steam.
to move rapidly or evenly: He steamed out of the room.
Informal. to be angry or show anger: Fans are still steaming from Monday night’s sloppy 5-4 loss.
to expose to or treat with steam, as in order to heat, cook, soften, renovate, or the like.
to emit or exhale (steam or vapor).
Informal. to cause to become irked or angry (often followed by up).
to convey by the agency of steam: to steam the ship safely into port.
heated by or heating with steam: a steam radiator.
propelled by or propelling with a steam engine.
operated by steam.
conducting steam: a steam line.
bathed with or affected by steam.
of or relating to steam.
Idioms about steam
blow / let off steam, Informal. to give vent to one's repressed emotions, especially by talking or behaving in an unrestrained manner: Don't take her remarks too seriously—she was just blowing off steam.
Origin of steam
1Other words from steam
- steamless, adjective
- outsteam, verb (used with object)
- pre·steam, adjective, verb (used with object)
- un·steamed, adjective
- un·steam·ing, adjective
Words Nearby steam
Other definitions for STEAM (2 of 2)
science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, considered as a group of academic or career fields (often used attributively): Engaging students in STEAM subjects helps them become adept at solving all kinds of problems they might encounter, regardless of their chosen careers.
- See also STEM.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use steam in a sentence
Both sides of Prop 22 are going full steam ahead in their efforts to sway California voters.
Human Capital: The battle over the fate of gig workers continues | Megan Rose Dickey | September 11, 2020 | TechCrunchCompetitors can add a bunch of milk, shape the oatmeal into tapas, brulee it, steam it, or bake it.
When you can’t step away ever or let off the steam in a healthy way it can be very difficult.
‘The dollar amount isn’t worth the mental toll’: Confessions of a media buyer on the pressure to keep performance up amid the pandemic | Kristina Monllos | August 25, 2020 | DigidayEquities usually lose steam and then bounce back over several months, not weeks.
The Fed’s bearish outlook puts the global stocks rally on pause | Bernhard Warner | August 20, 2020 | FortuneSailors screamed and moaned piteously on the upper decks, the steady hiss of steam in their ears.
Fire on the Bay: 115 Years Ago This Month, a Deadly Explosion Rocked a Navy Ship | Randy Dotinga | July 14, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
In 2006, the firm presided over a routine steam-injection procedure known as “well stimulation.”
Parenting a kid that can get from place to place under his own steam is a whole new ballgame.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. | Russell Saunders | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut as one deadly malady loses steam, another may be exploding: hunger.
Either way, the Navy is proceeding full steam ahead in preparing the DDG-1000 for sea.
Can the Navy's $12 Billion Stealth Destroyer Stay Afloat? | Dave Majumdar | October 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the 19th century, steam-powered printing presses led to mass circulations newspapers and magazines.
A colossal steam "traveller" had ceaselessly carried great blocks of stone and long steel girders from point to point.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsTwo huge steam engines had snorted and puffed for three whole years.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsGreenlaw (Charles P.), his efforts in obtaining steam for India, 560.
The steamboat of 1809 and the steam locomotive of 1830 were the direct result of what had gone before.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThe Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the first steam boat that ascended that river.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
British Dictionary definitions for steam
/ (stiːm) /
the gas or vapour into which water is changed when boiled
the mist formed when such gas or vapour condenses in the atmosphere
any vaporous exhalation
informal power, energy, or speed
get up steam
(of a ship, etc) to work up a sufficient head of steam in a boiler to drive an engine
informal to go quickly
let off steam informal to release pent-up energy or emotions
under one's own steam without the assistance of others
Australian slang cheap wine
(modifier) driven, operated, heated, powered, etc, by steam: a steam radiator
(modifier) treated by steam: steam ironed; steam cleaning
(modifier) jocular old-fashioned; outmoded: steam radio
to emit or be emitted as steam
(intr) to generate steam, as a boiler, etc
(intr) to move or travel by steam power, as a ship, etc
(intr) informal to proceed quickly and sometimes forcefully
to cook or be cooked in steam
(tr) to treat with steam or apply steam to, as in cleaning, pressing clothes, etc
Origin of steam
1- See also steam up
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
Scientific definitions for steam
[ stēm ]
Water in its gaseous state, especially at a temperature above the boiling point of water (above 100°C, or 212°F, at sea level). See Note at vapor.
A mist of condensed water vapor.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with steam
see blow off steam; full speed (steam) ahead; get up steam; run out of steam; under one's own steam.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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