# seep

Pronunciation: US say "SEEP" /sip/; UK

## Verb

1. To ooze or pass slowly through pores or small openings, in very small amounts.
   - Simple: To pass slowly through tiny holes or cracks, a little at a time.
   - _Groundwater can seep through porous rock over many years._
   - _Oil seeped slowly from the damaged pipe._
2. To work its way gradually into something, or to spread slowly through it.
   - Simple: To slowly spread or move into a place or through something.
   - _Distrust seeped into the negotiations as the talks dragged on._
   - _Cynicism can seep into a workplace over time._
5. Of a crack or opening, to allow a liquid to pass slowly through; to leak it.
   - Simple: To let a liquid pass slowly through, the way a crack does.
   - _The cracked seal seeped brine into the cargo hold._
   - _Worn pipes can seep water through their joints for years._
6. Of a feeling or quality, to ebb away gradually until little or none is left.
   - Simple: To slowly become less and finally fade away.
   - _Public support for the plan slowly seeped away._
   - _Hope can seep away when help never arrives._
9. To soak; to make or become thoroughly wet. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: To make something fully wet, or to become fully wet.
   - _Soak the grains and let them seep until softened._
   - _The bandage seeped in saline before it was applied._

## Noun

3. A small spring, pool, or spot where liquid from underground (such as water, oil, or tar) has oozed to the surface.
   - Simple: A spot where water, oil, or tar slowly comes up out of the ground.
   - _Geologists traced the oil to a natural seep along the coastline._
   - _Several seeps dotted the marsh, each leaking dark, mineral-rich water._
4. Moisture, liquid, or gas that has slowly oozed out; seepage.
   - Simple: Liquid or gas that slowly leaks out of something.
   - _A faint gas seep escaped from the cracked valve._
   - _Engineers collected the seeps to test for contamination._
7. The slow leaking or draining away of a liquid.
   - Simple: The slow leaking away of a liquid.
   - _Engineers monitored the steady seep of fluid from the cracked tank._
   - _A slow seep through the rock face eroded the trail over decades._
8. An opening on the sea floor from which fluid or gas escapes.
   - Simple: A place on the sea floor where gas or liquid leaks out.
   - _The submersible explored a methane seep at three thousand meters._
   - _Cold seeps support clams and tube worms that feed on chemicals._

## Origin

"Seep" is a variant of "sipe," coming from Middle English sipen and Old English sipian, from Proto-Germanic *sipōną. It traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root *seyb- meaning "to pour out, drip, trickle," and is related to Middle Dutch sīpen ("to drip") and Ancient Greek eíbō ("to drop, drip").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/seep (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).