steaming

Pluralsteamings (some meanings)

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of steam.

   Clouds of vapor rose from the pot, steaming the kitchen window.

   She is steaming the broccoli while the rice finishes cooking.

   Note

   One -ing form serves every verb use of steam, both transitive (steaming the broccoli) and intransitive (a pot steaming on the stove). After be it builds the progressive. In a noun slot it works as a gerund, and there it shades into the noun for steam's action. The test is the article: once it takes the or of (the steaming of the fabric), it has become a noun.

2. 2
   adjective

   Giving off steam: releasing hot, visible water vapor into the air.

   A steaming pot of stew sat on the windowsill to cool.

   The horses stood steaming in the cold air after the race.

3. 3
   adjective

   Extremely hot: intensely and almost unbearably warm.

   The travelers crossed the steaming jungle, soaked in sweat by noon.

   By August the whole valley turns steaming and dry.

   Similarsweltering, scorching, boiling, baking

   Oppositefreezing, cold

4. 4
   noununcountable

   The method of cooking food by immersing it in steam.

   Steaming preserves the texture and color of green vegetables.

   Many chefs recommend steaming over boiling for delicate fillets.

5. 5
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The effect or action of steam on a surface or material.

   The steaming of the fabric loosened its fibers for shaping.

   Repeated steaming gradually warped the thin wooden panel.

6. 6
   adjectiveslang

   Extremely angry; furious.

   He came home steaming about the unfair decision at work.

   By the end of the meeting the manager was steaming.

   Similarfurious, livid, fuming, angry

   Oppositecalm

   Note

   Slang for fury, and usually placed after the verb: I was steaming, he came home steaming. It often takes a cause, either a when-clause (steaming when I heard) or about (steaming about the decision). That cause is the surest way to tell it from the British "very drunk" slang, because "I was steaming" alone can mean either. Keep it to casual talk.

7. 7
   adjectiveslangUK

   Extremely drunk; heavily intoxicated.

   Half the lads were steaming before the match even started.

   She got absolutely steaming at her birthday party.

   Similardrunk, hammered, plastered, wasted, smashed

   Oppositesober

   Note

   British drinking slang that is very much alive. Caleb Azumah Nelson's Open Water (2021) puts it in a character's mouth: "I was steaming that evening and remember nothing." Like many words for drunkenness, it goes with get as well as be (she got steaming). It takes intensifiers readily (absolutely steaming). It belongs to the pub and the group chat, not to a doctor's notes.

8. 8
   noununcountable

   The raising and maintaining of a head of steam by a locomotive or engine during operation; by extension, operation under load.

   Steaming to full pressure took the better part of an hour.

   The crew began steaming before dawn so the train could depart on schedule.

   Note

   A railwayman's word for how well a locomotive makes and holds its pressure. Writers on locomotive performance judge it as a quality. 'Balmore', writing in 1961 on driving French engines, praises "the perfect steaming" of a Pacific. Cecil J. Allen in 1947 links it to the engine's response to firing and to the poor coal of the day. Good or poor steaming is a verdict on boiler, firing and fuel together.

9. 9
   noununcountable

   The act or process of traveling by sea under steam power.

   The steaming from port to port took six days in fair weather.

   Continuous steaming across the Atlantic burned tons of coal each day.

   Similarsailing

10. 10
    nouncolloquialUKuncountable

    A form of robbery in which a large gang moves swiftly and violently through a bus or train, robbing passengers.

    Steaming through packed commuter trains spread fear across the city that year.

    The transit police set up patrols to stop steaming on the underground.

    Note

    A British crime word, informal but used in earnest, that names the whole raid rather than any single theft within it: a large gang surging through a bus or train carriage. Used uncountably it names the practice (a wave of steaming on the underground). Used countably it names one incident (a steaming on the late train).

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