seep

[ seep ]

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to seep; filter:

   The vodka is seeped through charcoal to purify it.

noun

1. moisture that seeps out; seepage.
2. a small spring, pool, or other place where liquid from the ground has oozed to the surface of the earth.

seep

/ siːp /

verb

1. intr to pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings; ooze

noun

1. a small spring or place where water, oil, etc, has oozed through the ground
2. another word for seepage

Word History and Origins

Origin of seep¹

1780–90; perhaps variant of dial. sipe, itself perhaps continuing Old English sīpian (cognate with Middle Low German sīpen )

Word History and Origins

Origin of seep¹

Old English sīpian; related to Middle High German sīfen, Swedish dialect sipa

Example Sentences

Reality seeps into “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in multiple ways, including ones that writer-director Mohammad Rasoulof couldn’t have imagined back when he shot this absorbing drama in secret.

From Los Angeles Times

Other methods include drilling injection wells that deliver water to aquifers or intentionally releasing floodwater on agricultural lands in areas where it can seep rapidly underground.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Randles said a sudden dip in Woodhouse Road meant he had no time to avoid the flood water, which immediately seeped into the car.

From BBC

However, particles still seep through cracks, and closing windows and doors also traps exhaled breath, increasing the risk of spreading respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 or the flu.

From Los Angeles Times

More time goes by, and as the organic material in the bones wears away, water seeps into its place from the surrounding rock.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bleed
• drain
• flow
• ooze
• percolate
• permeate
• soak
• trickle