steep
Plural: steeps
Noun
- a steep place (as on a hill)
- The steep side of a mountain etc.; a slope or acclivity.
- A liquid used in a steeping process
- A rennet bag.
Verb
- devote (oneself) fully to
- let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse
- "steep the blossoms in oil"
- "steep the fruit in alcohol"
- To soak or wet thoroughly.
- To imbue with something; to be deeply immersed in.
- To make tea (or other beverage) by placing leaves in hot water.
- -ED, -ING, -S to soak in a liquid
Adjective
- having a sharp inclination
- "the steep attic stairs"
- "steep cliffs"
- STEEPER, STEEPEST inclined sharply
Adjective Satellite
- greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
- of a slope; set at a high angle
- "note the steep incline"
- "a steep roof sheds snow"
Adj
- Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward at an angle near vertical.
- Expensive.
- Difficult to access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high.
- resulting in a mast or windshield angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular.
Examples
- "a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep barometric gradient"
- "a town steeped in history"
- "Corn steep has many industrial uses."
- "The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior."
- "The tea is steeping."
- "They steep skins in a tanning solution to create leather."
- "Twenty quid for a shave? That's a bit steep."
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English steep, from Old English stēap (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *staupaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewb- (“to push, stick”).
Compare Old Frisian stāp ("high, towering"; > Modern Saterland Frisian stiep (“steep”)), Dutch stoop (“grand; proud”), Middle High German stouf (“towering cliff, precipice”), Middle High German stief (“steep”)). The Proto-Indo-European root (and related) has many and varied descendants, including English stub; compare also Scots stap (“to strike, to forcibly insert”).
The sense of “sharp slope” is attested circa 1200; the sense “expensive” is attested US 1856.
Synonyms
absorb, engross, engulf, exorbitant, extortionate, immerse, infuse, outrageous, plunge, soak up, unconscionable, usurious, brant, hilly
Scrabble Score: 7
steep: valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordsteep: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
steep: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary