steeve
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of steeve1
1475–85; probably < Spanish estibar to cram < Latin stīpāre to stuff, pack tightly; akin to Old English stīf stiff
Origin of steeve2
First recorded in 1635–45; origin uncertain
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:
MacCailein Mor looked a bit annoyed, and led us at a fast pace up to the gate of the castle that stood, high towered and embrasured for heavy pieces, stark and steeve above town Inneraora.
From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Neil Munro
"To rake," which is applied to spars, is from the Saxon racian, to incline;—"to steeve," which is applied to the bowsprit, and often pronounced "stave," is from the Italian stivare.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 12, October, 1858 by Various
Thou ance was i' the foremost rank, A filly buirdly, steeve, an' swank; An' set weel down a shapely shank, As e'er tread yird; An' could hae flown out-owre a stank, Like ony bird.
From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
This they did all day long for several days, until their hides were all discharged, when a gang of them were sent on board the Alert, to help us steeve our hides.
From Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
An' gin there had been a third he wad hae been there too, for he's a grim auld carle, baith gash an' steeve, wi' his Bible an' his brass-muntit pistols an' his Effectual Callin'!
From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett
If it wisna' for that bowsprit bein' steeved up and th' rivets stertit in th' bows o' her, I widna' be here at a'....
From The Brassbounder A Tale of the Sea by David W. Bone
"A brown patch in the big main-topsail, and the bowsprit steeved more'n ordinary," said Joe.
From Blackbeard: Buccaneer by Frank Earle Schoonover
How they called up to my mind the months of curing at San Diego, the year and more of beach and surf work, and the steeving of the ship for home!
From Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
The martinganes flatten in their jibs along their high steeving bowsprits and jib-booms.
From The Children of the King by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford
For one moment I saw everything reel and aslant—Kato, the Schmerveloffians on the sofa, the cistern-post with its hats and coats and one hook empty, steeving up towards a tilted ceiling....
From The Debit Account by Oliver [pseud.] Onions
We continued at work in this manner until the lower hold was filled to within four feet of the beams, when all hands were called aboard to begin steeving.
From Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Falconer also states that a sloop differs from a cutter by having a fixed steeving bowsprit and a jib-stay.
From King's Cutters and Smugglers 1700-1855 by E. Keble (Edward Keble) Chatterton
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.
