steep
/stip/
steep is pronounced steep (/stip/). Steep describes a slope that rises sharply or is difficult to climb, often implying a challenging angle or intensity. It can also characterize high costs, rapid declines, or intense, uncompromising conditions. In everyday usage, it conveys sharpness or severity rather than gradualness, whether about terrain, prices, or emotions.
Steep describes a slope that rises sharply or is difficult to climb, often implying a challenging angle or intensity. It can also characterize high costs, rapid declines, or intense, uncompromising conditions. In everyday usage, it conveys sharpness or severity rather than gradualness, whether about terrain, prices, or emotions.
"The hikers faced a steep ascent that slowed their progress."
"The mountain trail gets steep after the first switchback."
"Prices have risen to a steep level since last year."
Steep is pronounced with a single syllable, /stiːp/ in IPA. Start with /s/ followed by a long front vowel /iː/ as in “see,” and finish with a /p/ closure. Your tongue should be high and forward for /iː/, with a light, quick release into the voiceless bilabial stop /p/. Stress is on the single syllable naturally.
Common errors include shortening the vowel to a lax /ɪ/ or misarticulating the final /p/ as a /b/ in fast speech. Another pitfall is adding an extra syllable (e.g., /ˈstiː-əp/). To correct: keep the long /iː/ steady and avoid a trailing vowel; end with a crisp /p/ without voicing, ensuring the lips seal and release cleanly.
In US/UK/AU, /stiːp/ is largely similar since it is a monosyllable with a long /iː/. Variations may occur in vowel length and fine-tuning of lip rounding; some speakers in non-rhotic accents may have subtle vowel color differences, but the core is a clear, tense /iː/ followed by a definite /p/.
The difficulty stems from maintaining a long tense /iː/ vowel in a rapid, closed syllable followed by a plosive /p/ without voicing. Learners often shorten the vowel or voice the final consonant. Focus on keeping the vowel long and ensuring a clean, unvoiced /p/ release—no added aspiration beyond a typical, crisp plosive.
A word-specific issue is ensuring the /iː/ quality remains steady in connected speech where fast sequences may blur it into /i/ or /ɪ/. Practice with minimal pairs like /stiːp/ vs /stiːpə/ (adding a schwa). Also, avoid tensing the jaw excessively; keep a relaxed but controlled mouth posture to sustain the long vowel.
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Steep originates from Old English steepian, related to steep (again from Proto-Germanic *stupijaną) meaning to make steep or to incline. The core sense evolved from describing physical slopes to conveying intensity or extremity in figurative use. By Middle English, steep acquired nuances of scarcity or severity, as in steep prices or steep penalties, before broadening to describe anything markedly inclined or hard to traverse. The word’s form and meaning crystallized in the Germanic family with a focus on angle and sharpness, while English later extended “steep” to describe high costs, aggressive rhetoric, or rapid changes. Its semantic field parallels other high-intensity descriptors like precipitous and harsh, reflecting a shared sense of abrupt progression or difficulty. First known uses appear in Old English and early Middle English texts, where steep terrain and sharp slopes were commonplace descriptors in travel and landscape descriptions, anchoring the term’s literal origins before its figurative expansions.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "steep" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "steep" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "steep"
-eap sounds
-eep sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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