steep
1 Americanadjective
-
steeper,
comparative
-
steepest
superlative
-
having an almost vertical slope or pitch, or a relatively high gradient, as a hill, an ascent, stairs, etc.
-
(of a price or amount) unduly high; exorbitant.
Those prices are too steep for me.
-
extreme or incredible, as a statement or story.
-
high or lofty.
noun
verb (used with object)
-
steeps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
steeped,
past participle, past
-
steeping
present participle
-
to soak in water or other liquid in order to soften, cleanse, extract flavor or a particular ingredient, etc..
Pour boiling water over the mint leaves and steep them for 5 minutes.
Tapa cloth is made by steeping the thin bark of the paper mulberry tree in water and then scraping and beating it to the desired texture.
- Synonyms:
- infuse
-
to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue.
She isn't the only one whose belongings have been steeped in dirty floodwater—many of her neighbors are experiencing the same.
- Synonyms:
- permeate
-
to immerse in a particular kind of experience or area of learning, fill or saturate with a particular quality, etc., over a long period.
Steep your children in the values of honesty, kindness, dependability, and determination.
verb (used without object)
-
steeps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
steeped,
past participle, past
-
steeping
present participle
noun
-
the act or process of steeping or the state of being steeped (often used attributively).
For brewer’s malt, the steep takes a day or two, followed by germination and kilning.
I was only giving my cold brew about eight hours of steep time instead of the recommended 16 to 18.
-
a liquid in which something is steeped.
Remove the flax from the steep after five to seven days of soaking.
idioms
adjective
-
-
having or being a slope or gradient approaching the perpendicular
-
( as noun )
the steep
-
-
informal (of a fee, price, demand, etc) unduly high; unreasonable (esp in the phrase that's a bit steep )
-
informal excessively demanding or ambitious
a steep task
-
informal (of a statement) extreme or far-fetched
-
obsolete elevated
verb
-
to soak or be soaked in a liquid in order to soften, cleanse, extract an element, etc
-
(tr; usually passive) to saturate; imbue
steeped in ideology
noun
-
an instance or the process of steeping or the condition of being steeped
-
a liquid or solution used for the purpose of steeping something
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
steepsimple
-
steepssimple
-
have steepedperfect
-
has steepedperfect
-
am steepingprogressive
-
are steepingprogressive
-
is steepingprogressive
-
have been steepingperfect progressive
-
has been steepingperfect progressive
Past
-
steepedsimple
-
had steepedperfect
-
was steepingprogressive
-
were steepingprogressive
-
had been steepingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of steep1
First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective step(e), steppe, Old English stēap “lofty, towering”; akin to stoop 1
Origin of steep2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb stepen; further origin obscure; compare Old Icelandic steypa “to throw down, pour out,” Swedish stöpa “to cast”
Explanation
Steep means sharply angled. When hiking trails lead straight up mountainsides, they've got a steep incline. Steep also means "to soak in," as in steeping a tea bag in boiling water. You often hear steep used as an adjective to describe cliffs, hills, or even water park slides that have a perilous slope. Steep can apply to curves on a chart––you might say when someone who has a lot to learn that their learning curve is going to be steep. Steep also comes up to describe exorbitant changes in costs or spending. Everyone would love to travel more, but sometimes plane fare is too steep.
Vocabulary lists containing steep
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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.
See Examples For:
He added: "Our work suggests that tectonic uplift related to continental rifting and breakup created both steep slopes and high ground, providing the mountainous terrain that rivers and glaciers could readily erode."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
The fees were so steep that other pay-TV providers, including Cox, Dish Network and, for many years, DirecTV, refused to carry the Dodgers channel — leading to one of the longest blackouts in sports TV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Hovnanian Enterprises HOV -13.84%decrease; red down pointing triangle swung to a third-quarter loss as it continues to navigate a challenging housing market, plagued by steep rates and soft consumer sentiment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
It started to falter under the new "three red lines" -- caps for three different debt ratios -- which forced the group to offload properties at increasingly steep discounts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
PIH believed in sending resources directly to Cange, down “the steep gradient of inequality.”
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
The researchers say, "This finding highlights the steeper challenge faced by deconditioned populations."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
Jurado’s motion also calls on the City Council to consider slapping responsible parties with much steeper fines — ranging from $25,000 to $1 million — for future incidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
But "the AI buildout is climbing onto a steeper section of track just as the gap between capital spending and internal cash generation narrows", he warned.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Thus, the relatively steeper rise in 30-year yields means investors are more wary of future deficits, inflation or random shocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The ride was a dream, longer and steeper than the rail at home.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
The amount by which U.S. employers expect their health insurance costs to rise in 2027, the steepest increase in 20 years, according to a new survey from benefits consultant WTW.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The steepest growth has been in acceptances to what Ucas calls "higher tariff" universities.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
He notes it’s one of the steepest streets in the entire country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
However, the steepest and most inaccessible terrain acted as a natural barrier, protecting important areas of old-growth forest that logging crews could not easily reach.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
It wasn’t by the steepest waterfall, as I thought it would be, but considerably below and under, of all things, a dead oak.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
At Lawrence’s urging, George steeps himself in the classics, such as Plutarch and Seneca.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
At Ayu Bakehouse, Jacques steeps whole pandan leaves in coconut milk, eggs and sugar for hours until it morphs into a thick, creamy custard.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2025
Austere in form, “Heroes,” steeps us in the heated conversation of its characters as they reveal how they’ve changed since leaving the security of Transfiguration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
Gut-Behrami came down immediately after Shiffrin and took a similar cautious approach on the steeps.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2023
“That evil soaks into the soil. Some say it steeps and gets stronger. Maybe this isn’t the place. Maybe Gloria and I should have kept going after Virginia.”
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Discovery takeover has been steeped in controversy since the beginning.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
Hansard's life was steeped in music, from first picking up a guitar as a teenager right until the final hours of his life, when he was performing in a traditional music session.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
And he rooted his holding in the alleged “original meaning” of the amendment through analysis that appeared to be steeped in historical texts.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Lai is steeped in the archaeology of the park, the Gabrielino establishment here, the Zanja Madre irrigation line that served the early pueblo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The living room was dark, unaired, and she imagined the whole building steeped in months, even years, of accumulated urine, and herself working every day in this urine cloud.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Roberts put his academic background to work, steeping himself in traffic patterns and how search engines and users prioritized different types of content.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Lindo walked the streets where “Raisin” playwright Lorraine Hansberry lived, steeping himself in what it meant to exist in that place and time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
For one thing, it benefits from steeping in its own juices; cooking it several hours ahead of serving, even a day before, is ideal.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
Simmer the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat before turning the heat off and steeping for three minutes.
From Salon ● May 2, 2023
By the time Hannah and Mary staggered up from the cellar, I had the porridge bubbling and the tea steeping.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
