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Synonyms

steamy

American  
[stee-mee] / ˈsti mi /

adjective

steamier, steamiest

  1. consisting of or resembling steam.

  2. full of or abounding in steam; emitting steam.

  3. covered with or as if with condensed steam.

    a steamy bathroom mirror.

  4. hot and humid.

  5. Informal. passionate or erotic.

steamy British  
/ ˈstiːmɪ /

adjective

  1. of, resembling, full of, or covered with steam

  2. informal lustful or erotic

    steamy nightlife
"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

Other Word Forms

  • steamily adverb
  • steaminess noun

Etymology

Origin of steamy

First recorded in 1635–45; steam + -y 1

Vocabulary lists containing steamy

The Sweltering Words of Summer

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"GOAT" moved ahead of steamy literary adaptation "Wuthering Heights," which earned $14.2 million in its second week of release, according to Exhibitor Relations.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

Every Saturday, Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung plates as many as 20,000 of its delicate, steamy dumplings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025

It has supplanted its straightforward commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, as Cornell expressed it in 2020, with a steamy helping of corporate-speak mush.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2025

That championship was played in steamy August, another contributing factor to the layout feeling unfamiliar.

From BBC • May 12, 2025

The tourist traffic on Highway 66 was gone now, and Tayo imagined white people eating their mashed potatoes and gravy in some steamy Grants cafe.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.