What does "seep" mean?
A small spring, pool, or other spot where liquid from the ground (e.g. water, petroleum or tar) has oozed to the surface; a place of seeping.
Seep
/siːp/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small spring, pool, or other spot where liquid from the ground (e.g. water, petroleum or tar) has oozed to the surface; a place of seeping.
- Grammar: seep is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ooze, bleed, condense, diffuse.
- Useful contrasts: be confined, block, dry up.
- Usage evidence: If your windows are not airtight, moisture will seep in.
How to use "seep"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "seep" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "seep" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "seep" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "seep" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "seep" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ooze" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "seep", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small spring, pool, or other spot where liquid from the ground (e.g. water, petroleum or tar) has oozed to the surface; a place of seeping.
- 2 Moisture, liquid, gas, etc. that seeps out; a seepage.
- 3 The seeping away of a liquid, etc.
- 4 A seafloor vent.
"Another idea was that filamentous bacteria covering the hairs [of the Yeti crab] would either neutralize gases emitted from the vent or serve the crab directly as a food source. And this last idea received support when a second species of Yeti crab was discovered on cold seeps on the deep-sea floor near Costa Rica."
Verb
- 1 To ooze or pass slowly through pores or other small openings, and in overly small quantities; said of liquids, etc. intransitive
"Water has seeped through the roof."
- 2 pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings wordnet
- 3 To enter or penetrate slowly; to spread or diffuse. figuratively, intransitive
"Woe seeped through her heart thinking of what had befallen their ethnic group."
- 4 To diminish or wane away slowly. figuratively, intransitive
"The resistance movement against the invaders had slowly seeped away."
- 5 (of a crack etc.) To allow a liquid to pass through, to leak. transitive
"The crack is seeping water."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To soak. Scotland
"wi' the weet / We're seepit to the skin"
Example
"If your windows are not airtight, moisture will seep in."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "seep"?
Common synonyms include: ooze, bleed, condense, diffuse, discharge, distill.
How do you use "seep" in a sentence?
If your windows are not airtight, moisture will seep in.
How do you pronounce "seep"?
Pronounced /siːp/.
Etymology
Variant of sipe, from Middle English *sipen, from Old English sipian, from Proto-Germanic *sipōną, derivative of *sīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seyb-, *sib- (“to pour out, drip, trickle”). See also Middle Dutch sīpen (“to drip”), German Low German siepern (“to seep”), archaic German seifen (“to trickle blood”); also Latin sēbum (“suet, tallow”), Ancient Greek εἴβω (eíbō, “to drop, drip”)). See soap.