seep

seep
/seep/, v.i.
1. to pass, flow, or ooze gradually through a porous substance: Water seeps through cracks in the wall.
2. (of ideas, methods, etc.) to enter or be introduced at a slow pace: The new ideas finally seeped down to the lower echelons.
3. to become diffused; permeate: Fog seeped through the trees, obliterating everything.
v.t.
4. to cause to seep; filter: The vodka is seeped through charcoal to purify it.
n.
5. moisture that seeps out; seepage.
6. a small spring, pool, or other place where liquid from the ground has oozed to the surface of the earth.
[1780-90; perh. var. of dial. sipe, itself perh. continuing OE sipian (c. MLG sipen)]

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  • seep — [ sip ] verb intransitive 1. ) to flow into or out of something through small holes, usually when this should not happen: seep through: The rain had seeped through his clothes. seep into: Poisonous chemicals from the factory are seeping into our… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • seep — [si:p] v [I always + adverb/preposition] [: Old English; Origin: sipian] 1.) to flow slowly through small holes or spaces seep into/through/down etc ▪ Blood seeped down his leg. 2.) to move or spread gradually seep away/into/through etc ▪ His… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • seep|y — «SEE pee», adjective, seep|i|er, seep|i|est. 1. full of moisture. 2. poorly drained: »seepy land …   Useful english dictionary

  • Seep — Seep, or Sipe Sipe, v. i. [AS. s[=i]pan to distill.] To run or soak through fine pores and interstices; to ooze. [Scot. & U. S.] [1913 Webster] Water seeps up through the sidewalks. G. W. Cable. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • seep — (v.) 1790, variant of sipe (c.1500), possibly from O.E. sipian to seep, from P.Gmc. *sip (Cf. M.H.G. sifen, Du. sijpelen to ooze ). Related: Seeped; seeping …   Etymology dictionary

  • seep — seep·age; seep; …   English syllables

  • seep — index exude, outflow, permeate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • seep in — index penetrate, pervade Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • seep — [v] leak bleed, drain, drip, exude, flow, ooze, percolate, permeate, soak, sweat, transude, trickle, weep, well; concepts 146,179 Ant. pour …   New thesaurus

  • seep — ► VERB ▪ (of a liquid) flow or leak slowly through porous material or small holes. DERIVATIVES seepage noun. ORIGIN perhaps a dialect form of an Old English word meaning «to soak» …   English terms dictionary

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