\ ˈste-dē 
\
\steadier; steadiest
Definition of steady
(Entry 1 of 4)
1a : direct or sure in movement : unfaltering a steady hand
b : firm in position : fixed held the pole steady
c : keeping nearly upright in a seaway
a steady ship
3a : not easily disturbed or upset
steady nerves
b(1) : constant in feeling, principle, purpose, or attachment
steady friends
(2) : dependable
c : not given to dissipation : sober
steady
verbsteadied; steadying
Definition of steady (Entry 2 of 4)
: to make or keep steady
: to become steady
steady
adverbDefinition of steady (Entry 3 of 4)
1 : in a steady manner : steadily
2 : on the course set
—used as a direction to the helmsman of a ship
steady
noun plural steadies
Definition of steady (Entry 4 of 4)
: one that is steady specifically : a boyfriend or girlfriend with whom one goes steady
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Other Words from steady
Adjective
steadily \ ˈste-də-lē \ adverb
\ adverbsteadiness \ ˈste-dē-nəs \ noun
\ nounVerb
steadier noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for steady
Synonyms: Adjective
- constant,
- dedicated,
- devoted,
- devout,
- down-the-line,
- faithful,
- fast,
- good,
- loyal,
- pious,
- staunch
- (also stanch),
- steadfast,
- true,
- true-blue
Antonyms: Adjective
- disloyal,
- faithless,
- false,
- fickle,
- inconstant,
- perfidious,
- recreant,
- traitorous,
- treacherous,
- unfaithful,
- untrue
Examples of steady in a Sentence
Adjective
She used a tripod to keep the camera steady.
Painting takes a steady hand and a good eye.
Prices have remained steady over the last month.
He finally has a steady job.
They do a steady business at the restaurant.
There has been a steady increase in prices.
I am making steady progress on refinishing the basement.
There was a steady rain all day.
We've received a steady stream of donations. Verb
He steadied the gun and fired.
She used a tripod to steady the camera.
The doctor gave her medication to help steady her heart rate.
Her heart rate had been erratic but eventually steadied.
Prices have steadied in recent months.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Biden’s campaign made an initial $3 million investment in advertisements in Minnesota and the spending has remained steady in the final stretch of the campaign.
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Briana Bierschbach, Star Tribune, "Trump campaign cuts back on ads in Minnesota," 7 Oct. 2020 The daily death toll, about 11, has remained steady since June, however, after peaking at 157, also April 13.
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David Eggert, Detroit Free Press, "Oakland County will require residents to wear masks in public," 4 Oct. 2020 De Blasio added that the vast majority of the city has remained steady with low positivity levels and that the actions being taken in Brooklyn and Queens are to protect the entire city.
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Lucas Manfredi, Fox News, "NYC to close schools, nonessential businesses in 9 zip codes amid rise is coronavirus cases, de Blasio says," 4 Oct. 2020 Haven assets, such as the dollar and gold, were largely steady.
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Fortune, "Traders warn of a markets correction, sinking dollar in the wake of Trump COVID diagnosis," 2 Oct. 2020 Such numbers have remained relatively steady for weeks, Gullett said.
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Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, "New suburban Cuyahoga County coronavirus cases tick up again; deaths decrease," 2 Oct. 2020 Birth rates among Hispanic teens were the highest and remained largely steady, ticking up slightly from 37.1 to 37.7.
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Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, "Teen birth rates decline another year, CDC report finds, but Black and Hispanic rates see less significant change," 11 July 2020 In recent weeks, Gilead’s remdesivir inventory has risen as demand for the drug remained steady or declined slightly in the U.S., said Ms. Mercier.
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Joseph Walker, WSJ, "All Remdesivir Supplies to Be Distributed in U.S. by Maker Gilead Sciences," 1 Oct. 2020 The number of patients in intensive care remained steady at 81, while 30 were on ventilators.
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Brian Chasnoff, ExpressNews.com, "COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases drop," 30 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The situations have already led to a series of policy changes, missives and admonishments from the league to teams in an attempt to steady its pandemic season.
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Andrew Beaton And Louise Radnofsky, WSJ, "The NFL’s Covid-19 Crisis Intensifies With the Titans and Patriots," 7 Oct. 2020 Cook broke three tackles near the line of scrimmage — at one point putting his hand on the ground to steady himself — before shifting the ball to his left hand and using his right to stiff-arm Vernon Hargraeves on his way into the end zone.
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Ben Goessling, Star Tribune, "Vikings end wild week beating Houston for first win, bringing celebration and relief," 5 Oct. 2020 Nearby, the former lawyer from Los Angeles, his salt-and-pepper curls peeking from under the rim of his L.A. Angels cap, gripped the edges of the chair where he was seated as if to steady himself.
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Fernanda Santos, New York Times, "Elderly and Homeless: America’s Next Housing Crisis," 30 Sep. 2020 Thomas then delivered a 5-wood from 228 yards into the wind on the par-3 third hole and made a slick, 15-foot, double-breaking birdie putt to steady himself.
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The Salt Lake Tribune, "Patrick Reed takes U.S. Open lead; Utahn Tony Finau tied for 17th," 19 Sep. 2020 Thomas then delivered a 5-wood from 228 yards into the wind on the par-3 third hole and made a slick, 15-foot, double-breaking birdie putt to steady himself.
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Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, "U.S. Open Round 3 live stream (9/19): How to watch Winged Foot online, TV, time, tee times," 19 Sep. 2020 Grab a glass of wine to steady your nerves, and check on the rest of the Thanksgiving sides.
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Christopher Michel, Country Living, "Help! I Just Burned the Turkey. Can I Save It?," 2 Oct. 2020 Smith added 51 yards rushing after switching from receiver to running back this season to steady the offense on a night when Kellen Mond fumbled twice, losing one.
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Kristie Rieken, Star Tribune, "Spiller leads No. 10 Texas A&M over Vanderbilt 17-12," 26 Sep. 2020 Woods was in five bunkers through five holes and then appeared to steady himself with three straight birdies around the turn to get under par, but only briefly.
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Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, "U.S. Open Round 2 live stream (9/18): How to watch Winged Foot online, TV, time, tee times," 18 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb Staying steady through waves of uncertainty is kind of her superpower.
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Macaela Mackenzie, Glamour, "For Glennon Doyle, Self-Care Is Not Wearing Makeup—Or Pants," 27 May 2020 However, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index held steady, gaining 1.9% by midday Monday.
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Elaine Kurtenbach, USA TODAY, "Asian shares, US futures sink as virus crisis deepens," 23 Mar. 2020 The central bank for the euro system kept its main interest rate steady at -0.5% on March 12 while boosting asset purchases by €120 billion.
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John Detrixhe, Quartz, "The clock is ticking for the government bailouts to begin," 17 Mar. 2020 Meanwhile, digital increased 12.3% to $73 million from $65 million, synchronization rose by 24.14% to $36 million from $29 million, and other revenue held steady at $3 million.
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Marc Schneider, Billboard, "Warner Music Group Tops $1.25 Billion for the Quarter as Streaming Jumps 17%," 31 Jan. 2020 Annual growth held steady at 2% over a year earlier.
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Washington Post, "Asian stocks sink after Trump impeachment vote," 19 Dec. 2019 That report found the state has not experienced an increase in marijuana use among young people, and the number of citations for marijuana-only impairment stayed steady between 2014 to 2017.
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Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, "Weld County launches “marijuana is not harmless” campaign. But how accurate are its numbers?," 26 Dec. 2019 Through it all, though, the president's job approval has remained steady across all polls, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal’s included.
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Petra Cahill, NBC News, "House vote on Trump impeachment, weed vaping soars among teens and Adam Driver walks out of NPR interview: The Morning Rundown," 18 Dec. 2019 The central bank’s decision to leave its interest rate steady at 1.75% comes against a backdrop of a global outlook facing fresh risks because of an escalation in the U.S.-China trade row.
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Paul Vieira, WSJ, "Bank of Canada Keeps Key Rate Unchanged," 29 May 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Keeping the price steady could help in an economy that's still dealing with the ongoing pandemic, but Xbox's strategy is less focused on selling new hardware than Sony's (SNE).
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Shannon Liao, CNN, "The Xbox Series X will cost $499," 9 Sep. 2020 Officials voted to hold their benchmark rate steady in a range between 1.5% and 1.75% at the meeting after cutting it by a quarter percentage point at each of its previous three meetings.
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Nick Timiraos, WSJ, "Fed Minutes to Shed Light on Interest Rate Consensus," 3 Jan. 2020 As slack vanishes, job growth slows, the employment rate reaches full-employment levels, and wage growth steadies at rates consistent with productivity growth.
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Edward P. Lazear, WSJ, "The Recovery Is Reaching Its End," 18 June 2019 Production eventually steadies, but at much lower levels.
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Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, "Drilling, dollars & debt: Colorado’s oil and gas industry is leveraged to the hilt. What does that mean for the future?," 10 Nov. 2019 Opening the annual session of China’s legislature on Tuesday, Premier Li Keqiang laid out plans to fend off risks in the economy and keep the nation’s jobless rate steady.
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Lingling Wei, WSJ, "China Expects 2019 Economic Growth of 6% to 6.5%," 4 Mar. 2019 The break-even rate refers to the amount of monthly payroll gains needed to keep the jobless rate steady.
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Michael S. Derby, WSJ, "Derby’s Take: Ready For 3% Unemployment? Goldman Sachs Says It’s Possible," 14 Nov. 2018 Employers have added more than 200,000 jobs a month this year, well above the level Fed officials think is needed to hold the jobless rate steady.
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Nick Timiraos, WSJ, "Jobs Report Keeps Fed’s June Rate Increase on Track," 1 June 2018 The Bank of Canada held its benchmark rate steady last week at 1.25%, and signaled rates could climb soon despite worries over trade uncertainty.
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Paul Vieira, WSJ, "Canada Growth at Risk Due to Heightened Trade Anxiety: IMF," 4 June 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'steady.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for steady
steady
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of steady
(Entry 1 of 4)
: not shaking or moving : held firmly in one place or position
: not increasing or decreasing
: lasting or continuing for a long period of time in a dependable way
steady
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of steady (Entry 2 of 4)
: to keep (something or someone) from moving, shaking, falling, etc.
: to cause (something) to stop changing, increasing, decreasing, etc.
steady
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of steady (Entry 4 of 4)
US, informal + old-fashioned : the only person you are having a romantic relationship with : the person you are going steady with
See the full definition for steady in the English Language Learners Dictionary
steady
adjective\ ˈste-dē \
\steadier; steadiest
Kids Definition of steady
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : firmly fixed in position
Make sure the ladder is steady.
2 : direct or sure in action
She worked with steady hands. I took steady aim.
3 : showing little change
a steady flow of water I found a steady job.
4 : not easily upset
steady nerves
5 : reliable a steady worker
steady
verbsteadied; steadying
Kids Definition of steady (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make, keep, or become steady
He put on some music to steady his nerves. I put the stepladder next to the cart and steadied it with one hand …— Jack Gantos, Joey Pigza Loses Control
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Time Traveler for steady
The first known use of steady was in the 14th century
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