<B>stealthy, </B>adjective, <B>stealthier,</B> <B>stealthiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> done in a secret manner; secret; sly. <BR> <I>Ex. The cat crept with stealthy movements toward the bird.</I> (SYN) furtive, sneaking, underhand, surreptitious. adv. <B>stealthily.</B> noun <B>stealthiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steam">
<B>steam, </B>noun, verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>water in the form of vapor or gas. Boiling water gives off steam. <DD><B> b. </B>the white cloud or mist formed by the condensation, when cooled, of the invisible vapor from boiling water. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the vapor of boiling water used, especially by confinement in special apparatus, to generate mechanical power and for heating and cooking. <DD><B> b. </B>the power thus generated. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) power; energy; force. <BR> <I>Ex. That old man still has a lot of steam left in him.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a vapor or fume; exhalation. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to give off steam or vapor. <BR> <I>Ex. The cup of coffee is steaming.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to become covered with condensed vapor. <BR> <I>Ex. The windshield had completely steamed up inside the heated car.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to rise or issue in the form of steam. <BR> <I>Ex. Several damp gentlemen, whose clothes ... began to steam (Dickens).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(of an engine, boiler, or other device) to generate or produce steam. <DD><B> 5. </B>to move by steam. <BR> <I>Ex. The ship with its cargo steamed off.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>to run or go quickly, as if powered by steam; move with speed and vigor. <BR> <I>Ex. The runner steamed into second base for a double.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to show anger or irritation; fume. <BR> <I>Ex. The boss rushes in, steaming about figures in the Randall account (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). We see this guy, a book critic, ... really steamed (Life).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cook, remove, soften, freshen, or disinfect by steam. <BR> <I>Ex. to steam vegetables, to steam stamps off an envelope.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to give off or emit (steam or vapor); send out in the form of vapor. <DD><B> 3. </B>to transport or cause to move by steam. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) to make angry or agitated. <BR> <I>Ex. The mayor got further steamed up when the press lambasted him, ... and his volatile temper boiled over (New Yorker).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of, having to do with, or consisting of steam. <DD><B> 2. </B>cooking, softening, washing, heating, or treating by steam. <BR> <I>Ex. a steam laundry, a steam kettle.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>propelled by or with a steam engine. <BR> <I>Ex. a steam train.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>operated by steam or a steam engine. <DD><B> 5. </B>containing, conveying, or regulating steam. <BR> <I>Ex. a steam valve.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(British Informal, Figurative.) ordinary; conventional. <BR><I>expr. <B>get up steam,</B> </I>(Informal.) to work up the necessary energy. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] tried to work, but could not get up steam (Sunday Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>let</B> (or <B>blow</B>) <B>off steam,</B> (Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to get rid of excess energy. </I> <I>Ex. The children ran around letting off steam.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to relieve one's feelings. <BR> <I>Ex. He let off steam by yelling at a clerk.</I> adj. <B>steamlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steambath">
<B>steam bath,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a bath taken in a steam room. <BR> <I>Ex. He keeps fit by daily visits to the gymnasium for steam baths (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a Turkish bath or a sauna. <DD><B> 3a. </B>a bath of steam, used in a laboratory. <DD><B> b. </B>the apparatus containing such a bath. </DL>
<A NAME="steamboat">
<B>steamboat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a boat moved by steam. </DL>
<A NAME="steamboiler">
<B>steam boiler,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a boiler in which water is heated to make steam, as for working a steam engine or a steam turbine. </DL>
<A NAME="steamcar">
<B>steamcar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an automobile driven by steam; steamer. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S., Archaic.) a railroad car. </DL>
<A NAME="steamchest">
<B>steam chest</B> or <B>box,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the chamber through which the steam of an engine passes from the boiler to the cylinder. </DL>
<A NAME="steamcylinder">
<B>steam cylinder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the cylinder of a steam engine. </DL>
<B>steam engine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an engine operated by steam. A steam engine is usually one in which a sliding piston in a cylinder is moved by the expansive action of steam generated in a boiler. Locomotives, ships, and large machines may be driven by steam engines. adj. <B>steam-engine.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steamer">
<B>steamer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a steamboat; steamship. <DD><B> 2. </B>an engine run by steam. <DD><B> 3. </B>a container in which something is steamed or kept warm, as for sterilization or cooking. <DD><B> 4. </B>a boiler or other vessel for generating steam. <DD><B> 5. </B><B>=steamcar.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steamerchair">
<B>steamer chair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of reclining chair used by passengers on the deck of a ship. </DL>
<A NAME="steamerclam">
<B>steamer clam,</B> =soft clam.</DL>
<A NAME="steamerduck">
<B>steamer duck,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a duck of Patagonia and nearby islands whose movement in water suggests a steamboat. </DL>
<A NAME="steamerrug">
<B>steamer rug,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a heavy blanket, especially one used to keep a person warm in a chair on the deck of a ship. </DL>
<A NAME="steamertrunk">
<B>steamer trunk,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small trunk suitable for use in a ship's stateroom. </DL>
<A NAME="steamfitter">
<B>steam fitter,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who installs and repairs steam pipes, radiators, boilers, air-conditioning systems, and the like. </DL>
<A NAME="steamfitting">
<B>steam fitting,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the work of a steam fitter. </DL>
<A NAME="steamfog">
<B>steam fog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> fog that appears when cold air picks up moisture as it passes over warmer water. </DL>
<A NAME="steamgauge">
<B>steam gauge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an attachment to a boiler to indicate the pressure of steam. </DL>
<A NAME="steamgenerator">
<B>steam generator,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a unit for producing high-pressure steam, consisting of a combined boiler and superheater. </DL>
<A NAME="steamhammer">
<B>steam hammer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a powerful hammer for forging steel and for other heavy jobs, operated by steam power. </DL>
<A NAME="steamheat">
<B>steam heat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> heat given off by steam in radiators and pipes. </DL>
<A NAME="steaming">
<B>steaming, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> emitting steam or vapor. <BR> <I>Ex. a steaming glass of tea. He ... pulled up his steaming horse by the station (Joseph S. Le Fanu).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> travel by steamboat or steamship. <BR><I>expr. <B>steaming hot,</B> </I>piping hot; very hot. <BR> <I>Ex. a cup of steaming hot coffee.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steamiron">
<B>steam iron,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an electric iron in which water is heated to produce steam, which is released through holes in or near its undersurface to dampen cloth while pressing it. </DL>
<A NAME="steamjacket">
<B>steam jacket,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an enclosure or jacket into which steam passes, built round a tank, kettle, or the like, in order to heat it. </DL>
<A NAME="steamlocomotive">
<B>steam locomotive,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a locomotive that moves by means of steam generated in its own boiler. </DL>
<A NAME="steampipe">
<B>steam pipe,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pipe through which steam is conveyed. </DL>
<A NAME="steampoint">
<B>steam point,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a standard of measurement for temperature, equal to the temperature at which water boils under normal atmospheric pressure; 100 degrees centigrade (Celsius). </DL>
<A NAME="steampower">
<B>steam power,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the power of steam applied to move machinery or produce any other result. </DL>
<B>steam-roll</B> or <B>steamroll, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb. =steam-roller.</DL>
<A NAME="steamroller">
<B>steam roller,</B> or <B>steamroller</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a heavy roller, formerly run by steam but now usually by an internal-combustion engine, used to crush and level materials in making and repairing roads. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) a means of crushing opposition. </DL>
<A NAME="steamroller">
<B>steam-roller</B> or <B>steamroller</B> (2), verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>(Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to override by crushing power or force; crush. <BR> <I>Ex. to steam-roller all opposition.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to force (into or through) by this means. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make level or smooth with a steam roller. <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Informal.) to override or crush a person or thing that is in opposition. <DD><I>adj. </I> (Informal.) crushing as if with a steam roller; overriding. <BR> <I>Ex. steam-roller methods.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steamroom">
<B>steam room,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a room filled with dry or wet steam for sweating, as in a Turkish bath. </DL>
<A NAME="steamship">
<B>steamship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a ship moved by steam. (Abbr:) SS (no periods). </DL>
<A NAME="steamshovel">
<B>steam shovel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a machine for digging, formerly always operated by steam, but now often by an internal-combustion engine; power shovel. </DL>
<A NAME="steamtable">
<B>steam table,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fixture resembling a shallow tank in which water is heated or into which steam is piped, with holes in its upper surface into which containers are fitted. It is used especially by restaurants and institutional kitchens to keep food warm. </DL>
<A NAME="steamtight">
<B>steam-tight, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> impervious to the passage of steam under pressure. </DL>
<A NAME="steamtrap">
<B>steam trap,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a device permitting the passage of condensed water out of pipes and radiators while preventing the escape of steam. </DL>
<A NAME="steamturbine">
<B>steam turbine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rotary engine operated by steam. </DL>
