# steep

Pronunciation: say "STEEP" /stiːp/

## Adjective

1. Having a slope or surface that rises or falls at an angle close to vertical.
   - Simple: Rising or dropping sharply, at an angle close to straight up and down.
   - _The trail grew steeper as it approached the summit._
   - _Cyclists struggled against the steep gradient of the mountain road._
5. Higher in price than seems reasonable; costly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Costing a lot of money, more than seems fair.
   - _The repair bill was steeper than we had budgeted for._
   - _Tickets to the concert were steep, but fans paid anyway._
8. Of a mast or windshield, set at an angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular.
   - Simple: Set at an angle that leans far away from straight up, as a mast or windshield.
   - _The yacht's steep mast angle gave it a distinctive profile._
   - _Designers compared a steeper windshield against the standard model._

## Verb

2. To prepare tea or another beverage by letting leaves sit in hot water.
   - Simple: To make a drink such as tea by leaving leaves in hot water.
   - _She steeped the chamomile for five minutes to release its flavor._
   - _You should steep loose leaves a little longer than bagged ones._
3. To soak or wet something thoroughly by leaving it in liquid.
   - Simple: To soak something in liquid until it is completely wet.
   - _The recipe says to steep the dried mushrooms in warm broth._
   - _He steeped the wool in dye until the color set._
4. To fill someone or something thoroughly with an influence, subject, or tradition, or to be deeply immersed in it.
   - Simple: To fill someone or something deeply with a subject, an idea, or a long history.
   - _Novelists who steep themselves in a period's letters and diaries tend to get the small details right._
   - _The talks were steeped in mistrust from the very first day._

## Noun

6. A sharply sloping side of a mountain or hill; an abrupt upward slope.
   - Simple: The sharply sloping side of a hill or mountain.
   - _Climbers roped together before tackling the icy steep._
   - _From the road, the steeps of the gorge rose dramatically on both sides._
7. Liquid in which material is soaked during a soaking process.
   - Simple: The liquid that material is left to soak in.
   - _The corn sat in the warm steep for two days before milling._
   - _An acidic steep helps soften the kernels during processing._
9. A calf's stomach or its lining, used as a source of rennet to curdle milk.
   - Simple: The lining of a calf's stomach, used to curdle milk for making cheese.
   - _The cheesemaker drew curdling liquid from the steep each morning._
   - _An old recipe called for a piece of steep to set the milk._

## Adjective

10. Hard to reach; lofty, elevated, or high up. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Hard to reach because it stands very high up.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 5–6, 8, 10** — From Middle English steep, from Old English stēap ("high"), from Proto-Germanic *staupaz and the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)tewb- ("to push, stick"). It is related to words like Middle High German stief ("steep") and English stub. The sense of "sharp slope" is recorded around 1200, and the sense "expensive" in the US in 1856.
**Meanings 2–4, 7, 9** — From Middle English stepen, from Old Norse steypa ("to make stoop, cast down, pour out, cast metal"), from Proto-Germanic *staupijaną ("to tumble, plunge") and the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)tewb- ("to push, hit"). It is cognate with Danish støbe and Swedish stöpa ("to cast metal"), and related to stoop.

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