steep

[ steep ]

/ stip /

adjective, steep·er, steep·est.

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

a steep place; declivity, as of a hill.

Words nearby steep

steely, steelyard, steen, steenbok, steenbras, steep, steepen, steeple, steeple cup, steeplebush, steeplechase

Origin of steep

before 900; Middle English stepe (adj.), Old English stēap; akin to stoop¹

OTHER WORDS FROM steep

steep·ly, adverbsteep·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for steeply

That would be at least another couple percent of GNP, collected ideally through a steeply graduated consumption tax.
America's Investment Crisis|Jeffrey Sachs|October 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
How were we to prevent ourselves from slipping down the steeply inclined plane?
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth|Jules Verne
There were no pines around it; few trees of any sort; the ground did not slope so steeply as around the first house.
Pierre; or The Ambiguities|Herman Melville
He ranged here and there, and at last went up the hillside which rose here so steeply as to be stiff climbing.
The Hidden Places|Bertrand W. Sinclair

These, lashed together, were lowered into the hole and allowed to rest upon the steeply sloping sides.
A Lively Bit of the Front|Percy F. Westerman
Monson flung up the vans against the air, and over Fulham they rushed up their atmospheric switchback again, steeply—too steeply.
The Plattner Story and Others|H. G. Wells

British Dictionary definitions for steeply (1 of 2)

steep¹

/ (stiːp) /

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 forms of steep

steeply, adverbsteepness, noun

Word Origin for steep

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

British Dictionary definitions for steeply (2 of 2)

steep²

/ (stiːp) /

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 forms of steep

steeper, 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