Webster's English Dictionary

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steep

Cross references:
  1. soak                  
 
1. steep \'ste-p\ aj [ME stepe, fr. OE ste-ap high, steep, deep; akin to 
   MHG stief] steep, ON staup lump, knoll, cup 1: LOFTY, HIGH - used chiefly 
   of a sea  2: making a large angle with the plane of the horizon : 
   PRECIPITOUSM 3a: mounting or falling precipitously  3b: being or 
   characterized by a very rapid decline or increase  4: difficult to accept, 
   meet, or perform : EXCESSIVE ch sharpness of pitch that ascent or descent 
   is very difficult; ABRUPT implies a sharper pitch and a sudden break in the 
   level; PRECIPITOUS applies to an incline approaching the vertical; SHEER 
   suggests an unbroken perpendicular expanse - steep.ly av SYN syn ABRUPT, 
   PRECIPITOUS, SHEER: STEEP implies su 
2. steep n : a precipitous place 
3. steep vb [ME stepen; akin to Sw sto:pa to steep, and prob. to ON staupX 
   cup 1: to soak in a liquid at a temperature under the boiling point (as for 
   so ftening, bleaching, or extracting a flavor) 2: BATHE, WET  3: to 
   saturate with or subject thoroughly to (some strong or pervading inf 
   luence) : to undergo the process of soaking in a liquid  - steep.er n
4. steep n 1: the state or process of being steeped  2: a bath or solution 
   in which something is steeped  3: a tank in which a material is steeped