steep

CEFRB1

/stiːp/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Rising or falling sharply, not gradually.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Difficult to access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high.

Examples

  • From this point the climb suddenly became steep.

  • Stray dogs wander the steep narrow lanes of the old town.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward at an angle near vertical.

  2. resulting in a mast or windshield angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. The steep side of a mountain etc.; a slope or acclivity.

More examples

In context

  • The staircase leading to the rooftop is narrow, steep, and dark.

  • The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior.

  • Twenty quid for a shave? That's a bit steep.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The path up the mountain was very blank, making it hard to climb.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English steep, from Old English stēap (“high”), from Proto-Germanic *staupaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push, stick”). Compare Old Frisian stāp ("high, towering"; > Modern Saterland Frisian stiep (“steep”)), Dutch stoop (“grand; proud”), Middle High German stouf (“towering cliff, precipice”), Middle High German stief (“steep”)). The Proto-Indo-European root (and related) has many and varied descendants, including English stub; compare also Scots stap (“to strike, to forcibly insert”). The sense of “sharp slope” is attested circa 1200; the sense “expensive” is attested US 1856.