steep

[steep]

verb (used with object)

to soak in water or other liquid, as to soften, cleanse, or extract some constituent: to steep tea in boiling-hot water; to steep reeds for basket weaving.

to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue.

to immerse in or saturate or imbue with some pervading, absorbing, or stupefying influence or agency: an incident steeped in mystery.

verb (used without object)

to lie soaking in a liquid.

noun

the act or process of steeping or the state of being steeped.

a liquid in which something is steeped.

Origin of steep

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English stepen < ?; compare Swedish stöpa; (noun) late Middle English stepe, derivative of the v.

Related formssteep·er, nounun·steeped, adjective

Synonyms for steep

1. infuse. 2. permeate. 3. bury, engulf.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for steeping

arduous, precipitous, hilly, abrupt, sharp, lofty, exorbitant, excessive, dizzying, stiff, drench, bathe, immerse, suffuse, marinate, saturate, permeate, submerge, soak, infuse

Examples from the Web for steeping

Contemporary Examples of steeping

After steeping in this environment for a year, Sontag became the high priestess of French avant-garde culture.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’
Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi
April 6, 2012
All you need to do is shake up the steeping grounds a few hours in.
Coffee's Dirty Little Secret
Michael Meyer
August 18, 2009

Historical Examples of steeping

The water which is taken off is sour, and is called sure water: this is the proper leaven for the first steeping of the materials.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Silk may be dyed crimson, by steeping it in a solution of alum, and then dyeing it in the usual way in a cochineal bath.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
He went more slowly, steeping his senses in the aroma of luxury.
Nicanor - Teller of Tales
C. Bryson Taylor
The Indians think that a calm is caused by the winds' steeping.
Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 3)
James Athearn Jones
The stalks are then bundled and retted by steeping in pools of stagnant water.
Textiles
William H. Dooley

British Dictionary definitions for steeping

steep

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 ambitiousa steep task

British informal (of a statement) extreme or far-fetched

obsolete elevated

Derived Formssteeply, adverbsteepness, noun

Word Origin for steep

Old English steap; related to Old Frisian stāp, Old High German stouf cliff, Old Norse staup

steep

verb

to soak or be soaked in a liquid in order to soften, cleanse, extract an element, etc

(tr; usually passive) to saturate; imbuesteeped 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

Derived Formssteeper, noun

Word Origin for steep

Old English stēpan; related to steap vessel, cup, Old High German stouf, Old Norse staup, Middle Dutch stōp

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 steeping

steep

adj.

"having a sharp slope," Old English steap "high, lofty," from Proto-Germanic *staupaz (cf. Old Frisian stap, Middle High German *stouf), from PIE *steup- "to push, stick, knock, beat," with derivations referring to projecting objects (cf. Greek typtein "to strike," typos "a blow, mold, die;" Sanskrit tup- "harm," tundate "pushes, stabs;" Gothic stautan "push;" Old Norse stuttr "short"). The sense of "precipitous" is from c.1200. The slang sense "at a high price" is a U.S. coinage first attested 1856. Related: Steeply; steepness.

steep

"to soak in a liquid," late 14c., of uncertain origin, originally in reference to barley or malt, probably cognate with Old Norse steypa "to pour out, throw" (or an unrecorded Old English cognate), from Proto-Germanic *staupijanan. Related: Steeped; steeping.