seep B2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /siːp/ UK /siːp/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like cheap /tʃ/ vs /s/ Sounds like sheep /s/ vs /ʃ/ Meanings 1 verb to flow or leak slowly through small openings or pores Water began to seep through the cracks in the wall. 2 verb to gradually become known or spread News of the scandal began to seep out to the public. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to flow or leak slowly... oozetrickleleakdrippercolate 2 verb · to gradually become known... spreadinfiltratecreeppermeatefilter through ↔ Opposites gushpourflood Etymology AI details From Proto-Germanic *sipōną ('to drip, trickle'), via Old English *sīpan ('to seep, percolate') and Middle English sīpen ('to ooze, trickle') into Modern English seep. Topics Describing Qualities External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # seep **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /siːp/ **IPA (UK):** /siːp/ ## Meanings 1. to flow or leak slowly through small openings or pores 2. to gradually become known or spread ## Examples - Water began to seep through the cracks in the wall. - News of the scandal began to seep out to the public. ## Synonyms - ooze - trickle - leak - drip - percolate - spread - infiltrate - creep - permeate ## Antonyms - gush - pour - flood ## Etymology From Proto-Germanic *sipōną ('to drip, trickle'), via Old English *sīpan ('to seep, percolate') and Middle English sīpen ('to ooze, trickle') into Modern English seep. ## AI Etymology Seep comes from Proto-Germanic *sipōną ('to drip, trickle'), via Old English *sīpan ('to seep, percolate') and Middle English sīpen ('to ooze, trickle') into Modern English seep. In current use it is a verb meaning "to flow or leak slowly through small openings or pores". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown