steadies

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of steady.

   He steadies his breathing before stepping onto the stage.

   A wide stance steadies the gymnast as she prepares to land.

   Note

   The verb works both with and without an object, and this form covers both. With an object, someone steadies something: a hand steadies a ladder, and figuratively a word steadies the nerves. Without one, the subject itself settles: her voice steadies, the boat steadies. The final y becomes ie before the -s, which is why the verb shares its spelling with the plural noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of steady.

   By senior year, most of his friends had steadies they brought to every dance.

   The machinist slid both steadies into position to support the long shaft.

   Note

   Three different nouns share this plural, and context decides which one is meant. In a workshop, steadies are rests that support a hand, a tool or a piece of work. Socially, they are regular boyfriends or girlfriends, an informal use. A second informal meaning, a prostitute's regular customers, is a reason to make the romantic sense clear when the setting does not.

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