seep

1 of 2

verb

seeped; seeping; seeps

intransitive verb

1
: to flow or pass slowly through fine pores or small openings : ooze
water seeped in through a crack
2
a
: to enter or penetrate slowly
fear of nuclear war had seeped into the national consciousnessTip O'Neill
b
: to become diffused or spread
a sadness seeped through his beingAgnes S. Turnbull

seep

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a spot where a fluid (such as water, oil, or gas) contained in the ground oozes slowly to the surface and often forms a pool
b
: a small spring
2
seepy adjective

Examples of seep in a Sentence

Verb Blood was seeping through the bandage. The chemicals seeped into the ground.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Unlike hydrothermal vents, methane seeps aren’t hotter than the water that surrounds them. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024 But West, listed as a director of Rising Light Group, dismisses any suggestion that religion or mysticism has seeped into the scientific research on the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis. Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Loudoun County Fire Chief Keith Johnson told the Board of Supervisors in an update last week that propane had seeped into the home. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 There’s no way that energy wouldn’t seep into the clubhouse and front office. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 Boeing’s troubles are seeping into airlines preparing for summer travel — the busiest time of the year. Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024 Death and destruction abound — but so too does the ecological damage; chemicals and hazardous waste seep into the air and water supplies. Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 City officials’ most urgent goal is to prevent rainwater from seeping into the ground. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 That creativity seeps into every element of Justice’s life. Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 21 Feb. 2024
Noun
Resolution is also working to preserve and nurture other plants culturally important to tribes as well as caring for seeps, springs and waterways on properties the mine owns as wall as preserving ancestral sites. The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024 The piece of skin is one of countless traces of prehistoric life preserved in the Richards Spur limestone cave system near an oil seep in southwestern Oklahoma. Kate Golembiewski, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024 The seep under my feet runs into Meadow Branch, which spills into the creek a couple of stone’s throws to the northwest. T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 If the acidic water from a seep reaches an alkaline river or stream, its pH will rise, and the iron will fall out as what miners would call yellow boy. Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2023 Today, a tall fence runs around the seeps, but archaeologists have carried out more than 100 excavations of them since the early 1900s. Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023 During these dives, Hoy said the team plans to investigate some of the area’s cold seep communities — places where gases from under the sea floor rise through cracks and where plants don’t rely on photosynthesis for food production. Joshua A. Bickel, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023 Only the hazy shimmer of escaping hot water meeting the frigid sea alerted the researchers to the hydrothermal seep. Christina Larson, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2023 Thousands of years ago, prey animals fell into the seeps, made a ruckus, and attracted predators such as the saber-tooth cat and the dire wolf. Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of earlier sipe, from Middle English sipen, from Old English sipian; akin to Middle Low German sipen to seep

First Known Use

Verb

1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of seep was in 1790

Dictionary Entries Near seep

Cite this Entry

“Seep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seep. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

seep

verb
ˈsēp
: to flow or pass slowly through small openings : ooze

More from Merriam-Webster on seep

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