steep
/stiːp/ adjective, noun, verb
Forms steeper steepest steeps steeping steeped
- adjective Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward or downward at an angle approaching vertical. “a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep barometric gradient”
- adjective (informal) Expensive. “Twenty quid for a shave? That's a bit steep.”
- adjective (obsolete) Difficult to access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high.
- adjective (of the rake of a ship's mast, or a car's windshield) resulting in a mast or windshield angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular. “The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior.”
- noun The steep side of a mountain etc.; a slope or acclivity.
- verb (transitive, middle voice) To soak or wet thoroughly. “They steep skins in a tanning solution to create leather.”
- verb To make tea (or other beverages) by soaking leaves in water, which flavors the water.
- verb (intransitive, figurative) To imbue with something; to be deeply immersed in. “a town steeped in history”
- noun A liquid used in a steeping process “Corn steep has many industrial uses.”
- noun A rennet bag.
Synonyms
brant hilly costly pricey spendy 5-star big-ticket chargeful cheap at half the price costful cost-prohibitive fancy dear dearthful dispendious ex expenny expensive exy high-cost immerse engulf plunge engross absorb soak up infuse exorbitant extortionate outrageous
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English steep, from Old English stēap (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *staupaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“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.
From Middle English stepen, from Old Norse steypa (“to make stoop, cast down, pour out, cast (metal)”), from Proto-Germanic *staupijaną (“to tumble, make tumble, plunge”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewb- (“to push, hit”). Cognate with Danish støbe (“cast (metal)”), Norwegian støpe, støype, Swedish stöpa (“to found, cast (metal)”), Old English stūpian (“to stoop, bend the back, slope”). Related to stoop.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Bright; glittering; fiery. [Obs.]
- verb To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to extract the essence of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used figuratively.
- verb To undergo the process of soaking in a liquid; as, the tea is steeping. [Colloq.]
- noun Something steeped, or used in steeping; a fertilizing liquid to hasten the germination of seeds.
Etymology [OE. stepen, probably fr. Icel. steypa to cause to stoop, cast down, pour out, to cast metals, causative of stupa to stoop; cf. Sw. stöpa to cast, to steep, Dan. stöbe, D. & G. stippen to steep, to dip. Cf. Stoop, v. t.]
Etymology [OE. steep, step, AS. steáp; akin to Icel. steyp steep, and stupa to stoop, Sw. stupa to fall, to tilt; cf. OFries. stap high. Cf. Stoop, v. i., Steep, v. t., Steeple.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “steep”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details