Seep: Definition, Usage & Common Mistakes

Meaning 1：ooze slowly (seep)

seep 🔊

/siːp/

vi.

To flow or pass slowly through small openings or spaces in something, like a liquid.

Seep meaning illustrated: water slowly oozing into cracked, dry earth.

ooze slowly 🔊

➕

/uːz ˈsloʊli/

vi.

To flow or pass gradually through small openings or porous materials, typically referring to liquids like water.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'sīpian', meaning to ooze or drip. Related to Old Norse 'sípa' and German 'siffen'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'see' + 'p' – imagine you can see water slowly seeping through a tiny pinhole in a container.

📖 Example

After I fixed the tap, I noticed water was still seeping from the joint and dripping into the bucket below. 🔊 After repairing the tap, water continued to leak slowly from the joint into the bucket below.

🔗 Collocations

seep through – to pass slowly through a porous material

seep into – to gradually penetrate something

🔄 Synonyms

leak (vi.) – to escape or pass through a hole or crack

ooze (vi.) – to flow slowly in a thin stream

🚫 Antonyms

gush (vi.) – to flow out suddenly and forcefully

🌱 Derivatives

seepage (n.) – the process or an instance of seeping

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'seep' has origins in Old English and is frequently used in environmental science to describe the slow movement of liquids, such as groundwater or contaminants, through soil or rock layers. This term highlights gradual, often unnoticed penetration in contexts like hydrology or pollution studies.