noun
definition
The steep side of a mountain etc.; a slope or acclivity.
adjective
definition
Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward at an angle near vertical.
example
a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep barometric gradient
definition
Expensive
example
Twenty quid for a shave? That's a bit steep.
definition
Difficult to access; not easy reached; lofty; elevated; high.
definition
(of the rake of a ship's mast, or a car's windshield) resulting in a mast or windshield angle that strongly diverges from the perpendicular
example
The steep rake of the windshield enhances the fast lines of the exterior. http//legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20070303/news_lz1dd3maynard.html
Examples of steep in a Sentence
She screamed again as she tumbled down a steep hill.
Down these steep slopes we used to coast.
At the end of the hall, a steep set of stairs led to the attic.
She followed him across the valley and up a steep slope.
Jim stopped sometimes to rest, for the climb was rather steep and tiresome.
Half way up the steep was a yawning cave, black as night beyond the point where the rainbow rays of the colored suns reached into it.
He nodded and returned his attention to the steep hill.
Within the walls are two steep hills, one, Dala, about 120 ft.
To the left he saw a sloping descent lit up, and facing it a black knoll that seemed as steep as a wall.
A good brisk walk up a steep rugged trail would leave him too exhausted to make advances.
The angle was too steep, though and the roots of the bush too shallow.
As a rule the mountain slopes are well graded and subdued, but a few are steep and some are rocky and precipitous.
The route Alex chose meandered through the gorge and then up a steep deer trail to the top of the mountain.
They now moved on again, creeping slowly up another steep incline.
The streets of the city run irregularly up the steep face of the river bluffs.
These are places where the mode of travelling or of transport is changed, such as seaports, river ports and railway termini, or natural resting-places, such as a ford, the foot of a steep ascent on a road, the entrance of a valley leading up from a plain into the mountains, or a crossing-place of roads or railways.'
It is well stocked with trout, and the steep declivities of the lower valley furnish red wines of excellent quality.
She gripped the steering wheel as the vehicle plunged down a steep hill.
The steep and narrow road was far too dangerous for anything but slow caution.
Behind our position was a steep and deep dip, making it difficult for artillery and cavalry to retire.
It occupies a steep ridge jutting out from the west coast.
It was shorter but rough and steep.
The outer ranges in Alberta have usually the form of tilted blocks with a steep cliff towards the north-east and a gentler slope, corresponding to the dip of the beds, towards the south-west.
The east coast of Korea is steep and rock-bound, with deep water and a tidal rise and fall of 1 to 2 ft.
Its steep fault scarp faces west, and rises from 4000 to 6000 ft.
The hills which form its shores are so steep, and the woods on them were then so high, that, as you looked down from the west end, it had the appearance of an amphitheatre for some land of sylvan spectacle.
Our right flank was posted on a rather steep incline which dominated the French position.
The volcanic d'Entrecasteaux Islands are mostly larger, more elevated (the highest being 8000 ft.), and stand in deeper water than the Louisiade group. To the east of Kiriwina (Trobriand) lies a small group of uniquely formed islets, each of which is completely surrounded by a steep forest-clad marginal rampart of coral 300 to 400 ft.
The streets are in general steep and narrow, but there is a handsome promenade in the upper town, laid out in the 18th century by the intendant Antoine Megret d'Etigny.
Venetian influence is everywhere manifest; the Lion of St Mark is carved over the main gateway and on many public buildings; and among the narrow and steep lanes of the city there are numerous examples of Venetian Gothic or early Renaissance architecture.
East of the Taupo plateau and south of Opotiki on the Bay of Plenty the steep thickly-timbered ranges held by the Uriwera tribe still show scenery quite unspoiled by white intrusion.
In the last-named region some fifteen salt-water gulfs penetrate into the very heart of the mountains, winding amid steep, cloudcapped ranges, and tall, richly-clothed cliffs overhanging their calm waters.
Beyond the ground rises in steep slopes to a general level of over 1000 ft., the plateau being traversed in several directions by hills rising 2000 ft.
It is at the head of a narrow defile, shut in by steep hills on the east and west but expanding on the north to meet the valley of the Save.
On its slope, which rises abruptly from the Bitterroot Basin, glaciers have cut canyons between high and often precipitous walls, and between these canyons are steep and rocky ridges having peaked or saw-toothed crest lines.
Epd rEty, to tear, English "rive," the sense being a broken cliff or steep bank.
Asymmetry of the folds is a marked characteristic in the zones of closer folding, the anticlines having long gently inclined easterly limbs, and short, steep and even overturned limbs upon the west.
Other improvements projected in 1908 on the slope of the hill immediately below the Place Royale included the removal of the old tortuous and steep street called the "Montagne de la Cour" to give place to a Mont des Arts.
From the East Turkestan lowlands on the north the ascent is very steep, and the passes across both sets of ranges lie at great altitudes; for example, the pass of Sanju-davan in the lower range is 16,325 ft.
The southern slope of the range is gentle but short, the northern slope long and steep. Grass is able to grow, and animal life is more abundant.
To the west of Parr's Ridge the surface for the most part slopes gently down to the east bank of the Monocacy river (which flows nearly at a right angle with the streams east of the Ridge), and then from the opposite bank rises rapidly toward the Catoctin Mountain; but just above the mouth of the Monocacy on the east side of the valley is Sugar Loaf Mountain, which makes a steep ascent of 1250 ft.
They are cut in a very steep wall of rock, about 1800 ft.
The contour of the sea-bed, however, has been shown to influence this distribution, the continuation of the slope of a steep shore beneath the sea being adverse to their formation, whereas on a gentler slope they may be formed.
This plateau belt is exceedingly rugged with sharp ridges alternating with narrow valleys which have steep sides but are seldom more than 150o ft.
Down the steep slopes of the escarpment the Highland Rim Plateau drops 200 ft.
Fortification was well understood, as may still be seen in the remains of walled and escarped strongholds on hills and in steep ravines, while lagoon-cities like Mexico had the water approaches defended by fleets of boats and the causeways protected by towers and ditches; even after the town was entered, the pyramid-temples with their surrounding walls were forts capable of stubborn resistance.
The principal merchantable timber of the state is red spruce, and this is found chiefly in the virgin forests which remain in the north, especially in those on the steep mountain slopes between elevations of 1800 ft.
Up the steep slope of Mount Washington runs a cog railway.
This fort is situated on a very steep hill, more than 800 ft.
The submature or mature dissection of the plateau by its branching insequent streams results in giving it an excess of sloping surface, usually too steep for farming, and hence left for tree growth.