Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

steam

[steem]
See more synonyms for steam on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. water in the form of an invisible gas or vapor.
  2. water changed to this form by boiling, extensively used for the generation of mechanical power, for heating purposes, etc.
  3. the mist formed when the gas or vapor from boiling water condenses in the air.
  4. an exhalation of a vapor or mist.
  5. Informal. power or energy.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to emit or give off steam or vapor.
  2. to rise or pass off in the form of steam or vapor.
  3. to become covered with condensed steam, as a window or other surface (often followed by up).
  4. to generate or produce steam, as in a boiler.
  5. to move or travel by the agency of steam.
  6. to move rapidly or evenly: He steamed out of the room.
  7. Informal. to be angry or show anger: Fans are still steaming from Monday night’s sloppy 5-4 loss.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to expose to or treat with steam, as in order to heat, cook, soften, renovate, or the like.
  2. to emit or exhale (steam or vapor).
  3. Informal. to cause to become irked or angry (often followed by up).
  4. to convey by the agency of steam: to steam the ship safely into port.
Show More
adjective
  1. heated by or heating with steam: a steam radiator.
  2. propelled by or propelling with a steam engine.
  3. operated by steam.
  4. conducting steam: a steam line.
  5. bathed with or affected by steam.
  6. of or relating to steam.
Show More
Idioms
  1. 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.
Show More

Origin of steam

before 1000; Middle English steme, Old English stēam; cognate with Dutch stoom
Related formssteam·less, adjectiveout·steam, verb (used with object)pre·steam, adjective, verb (used with object)un·steamed, adjectiveun·steam·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for steam

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for steam

steam

noun
  1. the gas or vapour into which water is changed when boiled
  2. the mist formed when such gas or vapour condenses in the atmosphere
  3. any vaporous exhalation
  4. informal power, energy, or speed
  5. get up steam
    1. (of a ship, etc) to work up a sufficient head of steam in a boiler to drive an engine
    2. informalto go quickly
  6. let off steam informal to release pent-up energy or emotions
  7. under one's own steam without the assistance of others
  8. Australian slang cheap wine
  9. (modifier) driven, operated, heated, powered, etc, by steama steam radiator
  10. (modifier) treated by steamsteam ironed; steam cleaning
  11. (modifier) jocular old-fashioned; outmodedsteam radio
Show More
verb
  1. to emit or be emitted as steam
  2. (intr) to generate steam, as a boiler, etc
  3. (intr) to move or travel by steam power, as a ship, etc
  4. (intr) informal to proceed quickly and sometimes forcefully
  5. to cook or be cooked in steam
  6. (tr) to treat with steam or apply steam to, as in cleaning, pressing clothes, etc
Show More
See also steam up

Word Origin

Old English; related to Dutch stoom steam, perhaps to Old High German stioban to raise dust, Gothic stubjus dust
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

Word Origin and History for steam

n.

Old English steam "vapor, fume," from Proto-Germanic *staumaz (cf. Dutch stoom), of unknown origin. Steam age first attested 1941. Steam heat as a method of temperature control recorded from 1904.

Show More

v.

Old English stemen, stymen "to emit a scent or odor," from the root of steam (n.). Slang meaning "to make angry" is from 1922. Related: Steamed; steaming.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
steam in Science

steam

[stēm]
  1. 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.
  2. A mist of condensed water vapor.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with steam

steam

see blow off steam; full speed (steam) ahead; get up steam; run out of steam; under one's own steam.

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.