steep

UK/stiːp/US/stiːp/

adjectiveB24 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,393 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: steeper, steeped, steepest, steeping

Steep means the ground goes up or down sharply. A steep path is one you lean into, steep stairs are the ones you come down sideways, and a steep roof will not hold a ladder.

Numbers take the same word, and there it means sudden and large: a steep rise in rents, a steep drop in bookings, a steep learning curve. Call a price steep and you mean it is more than the thing is worth — nine pounds for a sandwich is steep. Note what steep measures, because this is the slip: it is the slope, not the height. A garden wall can be steep and a mountain path gentle. And there is a second steep altogether, a verb, the one you do to tea: you steep the leaves in hot water, and you can leave fruit steeping in brandy for a month.

Definitions of steep

1adjectivesteepRising or falling sharply, so that it is hard work to climb.B2~85%
“The last part of the path is very steep.”
- Said"The path's steep from here; we'll be out of breath before the bend."
- WrittenThe steepest street in the town had a handrail and, in winter, a queue.
- UsedApproach a steep hill in a low gear and keep your speed steady.
- ContrastSteep, not high. High is where the top is; steep is how hard the climb to it feels. high →
- Not thisSteeping tea is another word. This steep is about slopes.
- SimplyThe road is steep. We walk slowly.
Patterna steep hill / slope / climb · steep stairs · steeply · steepness
synonyms: sharp, sheer
2adjectiveabruptOf a rise or a fall in numbers: sudden and large.B2~11%
“There has been a steep rise in rents since spring.”
synonyms: sharp, abrupt
3adjectivepriceyOf a price: higher than the thing is worth.B2~2%
“Six pounds for a coffee is steep.”
synonyms: pricey, expensive
4verbleaveTo leave something soaking in hot liquid so that the flavour comes out.C1~2%
“Steep the tea for four minutes before you pour it.”
- Said"Let it steep a bit longer — I like it strong."
- WrittenShe steeped the herbs in hot milk, and the kitchen filled with the smell of summer.
- UsedSteep for three to five minutes, then remove the bag.
- ContrastSteep, not soak. You soak beans to soften them; you steep tea to draw the taste out. soak →
- SimplyPut it in water and wait. Let it steep.
Patternsteep + noun (tea, herbs) in + liquid · let sth steep · steep for + time

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 176 sentences found in the wild and placed 162 of them on a sense (14 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Remember it

STEEP → SLEEP, in the pot or at the foot of the hill

Leave the tea leaves to sleep in the hot water until the tea is strong: that is steeping. And a steep hill is one so sharp you would rather sleep at the bottom than climb it.

hooks ontosleep

Phrases it lives in

a steep learning curve — a great deal to take in very quickly

Also practised as

verbTo leave something soaking in hot liquid so that the flavour comes out.

Where it comes from

Old English stēap meant simply high — there was no slope in the word at all. The sharp-slope sense is recorded from about 1200, and the sense of a price being too high is American, from 1856. The root behind it, *(s)tewp-, meant to push or stick out, and it also gave English stub. The other steep, the one you do to tea, is a separate word borrowed from Old Norse steypa, to pour out.

Old English
stēap
Middle English
steep
English, today
steep

From Middle English steep, from Old English stēap. 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 stq 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”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Everyday Adjectives, Sharper Adjectives

Practise this word

steep in the wild

The height of the land on a steep coast is well above sea level.
Steep coast
On volcanic islands the sea can enter the caldera and the face of the volcanic pipe can form a steep coastline.
Steep coast
A steep structure is a unique structural feature found in the O'okiep Copper District (OCD), Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.
Steep structure
There was a steep decline in business from 1460 to 1540.
Court of King's Bench (England)
The village is at the edge of a bay and expands into the surrounding steep hills.
Fuglafjørður

1 / 3

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the stēap family

steep

steep — used about once every 1,358 pages · #5,393 · point at the bar for the others

Definitions of steep

1adjectivesteepRising or falling sharply, so that it is hard work to climb.B2~85%

“The last part of the path is very steep.”

Said"The path's steep from here; we'll be out of breath before the bend."
WrittenThe steepest street in the town had a handrail and, in winter, a queue.
UsedApproach a steep hill in a low gear and keep your speed steady.
ContrastSteep, not high. High is where the top is; steep is how hard the climb to it feels. high →
Not thisSteeping tea is another word. This steep is about slopes.
SimplyThe road is steep. We walk slowly.

Patterna steep hill / slope / climb · steep stairs · steeply · steepness

synonyms: sharp, sheer

2adjectiveabruptOf a rise or a fall in numbers: sudden and large.B2~11%

“There has been a steep rise in rents since spring.”

synonyms: sharp, abrupt

3adjectivepriceyOf a price: higher than the thing is worth.B2~2%

“Six pounds for a coffee is steep.”

synonyms: pricey, expensive

4verbleaveTo leave something soaking in hot liquid so that the flavour comes out.C1~2%

“Steep the tea for four minutes before you pour it.”

Said"Let it steep a bit longer — I like it strong."
WrittenShe steeped the herbs in hot milk, and the kitchen filled with the smell of summer.
UsedSteep for three to five minutes, then remove the bag.
ContrastSteep, not soak. You soak beans to soften them; you steep tea to draw the taste out. soak →
SimplyPut it in water and wait. Let it steep.

Patternsteep + noun (tea, herbs) in + liquid · let sth steep · steep for + time

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 176 sentences found in the wild and placed 162 of them on a sense (14 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.