<B>steep</B> (1), adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1a. </B>having a sharp slope. <BR> <I>Ex. a very steep hill, a steep grade.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>almost straight up and down. <BR> <I>Ex. a steep cliff.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>unreasonably high; exorbitant. <BR> <I>Ex. a steep price.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>sharply rising or falling. <BR> <I>Ex. a steep gain in exports, a steep decline in the rate of employment.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) exaggerated; incredible. <BR> <I>Ex. a steep story.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) headlong. <BR> <I>Ex. from that steep ruin to which he had nigh brought them (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) elevated; lofty. <DD><I>noun </I> a steep slope; precipitous place. adv. <B>steeply.</B> noun <B>steepness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steep">
<B>steep</B> (2), verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to undergo soaking; soak. <BR> <I>Ex. Let the tea leaves steep in boiling water.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to permit to steep; soak, especially in order to soften, cleanse, or extract an essence. <BR> <I>Ex. She steeped the tea in boiling water.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make thoroughly or frequently wet (with); saturate (in). <BR> <I>Ex. His shirt was steeped with sweat. She steeped her handkerchief in tears as she cried.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to involve deeply in something; immerse; imbue. <BR> <I>Ex. to steep oneself in knowledge of the Middle Ages. The professor steeps himself in Latin.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the process of soaking. <DD><B> 2. </B>the liquid in which something is soaked. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) a steeping vessel. <BR><I>expr. <B>steeped in,</B> </I>filled with; permeated by. <BR> <I>Ex. ruins steeped in gloom, a mind steeped in hatred. The whole of modern thought is steeped in science (Thomas H. Huxley).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steepen">
<B>steepen, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to become steep or steeper. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make steep or steeper. </DL>
<A NAME="steeper">
<B>steeper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that steeps or soaks. <DD><B> 2. </B>a vessel used in steeping. </DL>
<A NAME="steepgrass">
<B>steepgrass, </B>noun. <B>=butterwort.</B></DL>
<A NAME="steepish">
<B>steepish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> rather steep. </DL>
<A NAME="steeple">
<B>steeple, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a high tower on a church, temple, or other public building. Steeples usually have spires and often contain bells. <BR> <I>Ex. ... spire steeples ... point as with silent finger to the sky (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a spire on the top of the tower or roof of a church or similar building. adj. <B>steeplelike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steeplebush">
<B>steeplebush, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a hardhack. </DL>
<A NAME="steeplechase">
<B>steeplechase, </B>noun, verb, <B>-chased,</B> <B>-chasing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a horse race over a course having ditches, hedges, and other obstacles. <DD><B> b. </B>a cross-country horse race in which the contestants hurdle such obstacles as fences and brooks. <DD><B> 2. </B>a cross-country footrace in which the runners jump over hurdles and a ditch filled with water. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to ride or run in a steeplechase. noun <B>steeplechaser.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steeplecrowned">
<B>steeple-crowned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a tall, pointed crown, as a hat. </DL>
<A NAME="steepled">
<B>steepled, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a steeple or steeples or abounding in steeples. <BR> <I>Ex. many a steepled town (John Greenleaf Whittier).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steeplehat">
<B>steeple hat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a steeple-crowned hat. </DL>
<A NAME="steeplejack">
<B>steeplejack, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a person who climbs steeples, towers, tall chimneys, or the like to make repairs or do other work. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to do the work of a steeplejack. </DL>
<A NAME="steepletop">
<B>steeple top,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the top of a steeple. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=Greenland whale </B>(because its spout holes end in a sort of cone). </DL>
<A NAME="steepto">
<B>steep-to, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> descending almost perpendicularly into water, as a shore or shoal bordering navigable water; abruptly steep. </DL>
<A NAME="steepwater">
<B>steepwater, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the water in which a thing is soaked or macerated. </DL>
<B>steer</B> (1), verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to guide the course of. <BR> <I>Ex. to steer a car, steer one's plans toward success. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by (John Masefield).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to guide; lead; conduct; pilot. <BR> <I>Ex. to steer a person through a crowd, steer a horse to victory.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to set and follow (a certain course). <BR> <I>Ex. That country steers a middle course between war and peace with its neighbors. He was bravely steering his way across the continent (Washington Irving).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to guide the course of a ship, automobile, bicycle, horse, or other conveyance or animal. <BR> <I>Ex. The sail collapsed, and the captain steered for the harbor.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to admit of being steered; be guided. <BR> <I>Ex. This car steers easily.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to direct one's way or course. <BR> <I>Ex. Steer away from trouble. He steered along the street by her side (Elizabeth Gaskell).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (U.S. Slang.) an idea or a suggested course of action; tip. <BR> <I>Ex. Of the selling jobs advertised ... maybe there might be a real steer in one (James T. Farrell). [The] navigator gave Mosbacher a bum steer--laying a course to the wrong buoy (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>steer clear of,</B> </I>to keep away from; avoid. <BR> <I>Ex. Steer clear of him until he calms down. We would have steered clear of them, and cared not to have them see us, if we could help it (Daniel Defoe).</I> noun <B>steerer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="steer">
<B>steer</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a young male of cattle that has been castrated; young ox, usually two to four years old, especially one being raised for beef. <DD><B> 2. </B>any male of beef cattle. </DL>
<B>steerability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being steerable. <BR> <I>Ex. the steerability of a sled.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steerable">
<B>steerable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be steered. </DL>
<A NAME="steerage">
<B>steerage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the part of a passenger ship occupied by passengers traveling at the cheapest rate. Steerage was replaced on most lines originally by third class and now by tourist class. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the act or process of steering a boat or ship. <DD><B> b. </B>the manner in which a ship is affected by the helm. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) direction; guidance. <BR> <I>Ex. the steerage of a country through war.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steerageway">
<B>steerageway, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the amount of forward motion a ship must have before it can be steered; speed below which a vessel will not answer the helm. </DL>
<A NAME="steerhide">
<B>steerhide, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the hide of a steer. <DD><B> 2. </B>leather made from it. </DL>
<A NAME="steering">
<B>steering, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a discriminatory practice in which real-estate agents direct black clients to black or integrated communities without informing them of dwellings available for sale or rent in white communities. </DL>
<A NAME="steeringcolumn">
<B>steering column,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the cylindrical shaft connecting the steering gear of an automobile with the steering wheel. </DL>
<A NAME="steeringcommittee">
<B>steering committee,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a committee, in a lawmaking or other body, that is responsible for deciding which items shall be considered and in what order. </DL>
<A NAME="steeringgear">
<B>steering gear,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the mechanism by which the front wheels of an automobile are turned to right or left. <DD><B> b. </B>the mechanism by which the rudder of a ship is turned to port or starboard. <DD><B> 2. </B>any apparatus for steering. <BR> <I>Ex. the steering gear of a bicycle.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steeringwheel">
<B>steering wheel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the wheel that is turned to steer an automobile, ship, or other conveyance. </DL>
<A NAME="steerless">
<B>steerless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no rudder. </DL>
<A NAME="steersman">
<B>steersman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person who steers a boat or ship. <BR> <I>Ex. By and by ... nearly every pilot on the river had a steersman (Mark Twain).</I> (SYN) helmsman. </DL>
<A NAME="steersmanship">
<B>steersmanship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the office or art of a steersman; skill in steering. </DL>
<A NAME="steeve">
<B>steeve</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>steeved,</B> <B>steeving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a long derrick or spar with a block at one end, used in stowing cargo. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to stow (cargo) in the hold or on the deck of a ship. <BR> <I>Ex. Each morning we ... brought off as many hides as we could steeve in the course of the day (Richard H. Dana).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="steeve">
<B>steeve</B> (2), verb, <B>steeved,</B> <B>steeving.</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> (of a bowsprit) to extend upward at an angle rather than horizontally with the keel. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to set (a bowsprit or spar) at an angle upward. <DD><I>noun </I> the angle upward of a bowsprit. </DL>
<A NAME="steeving">
<B>steeving, </B>noun. <B>=steeve</B> (2).</DL>
<A NAME="stefanboltzmannlaw">
<B>Stefan-Boltzmann law,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the law stating that the total energy radiated per second by each unit area of a perfect black body is proportional to the fourth power of its absolute temperature. </DL>
<A NAME="stegocephalian">
<B>stegocephalian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a group of extinct tailless amphibians whose skulls were protected by bony plates. </DL>
<A NAME="stegodon">
<B>stegodon, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dons</B> or (collectively) <B>-don.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of very large extinct mammals with ridged teeth, related to the elephants and mastodons. </DL>
<A NAME="stegosaur">
<B>stegosaur, </B>noun. <B>=stegosaurus.</B></DL>
<A NAME="stegosaurus">
<B>stegosaurus, </B>noun, pl. <B>-sauri.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, extinct, plant-eating reptile with heavy, bony armor. The stegosauri comprised a genus of ornithischian dinosaurs. </DL>
