Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense steams, present participle steaming, past tense, past participle steamed
1. uncountable noun
Steam is the hot mist that forms when water boils. Steam vehicles and machines are operated using steam as a means of power.
In an electric power plant the heat converts water into high-pressure steam.
...the invention of the steam engine.
Synonyms: vapour, mist, condensation, moisture More Synonyms of steam
2. verb
If something steams, it gives off steam.
...restaurants where coffee pots steamed on their burners. [VERB]
...a basket of steaming bread rolls. [VERB-ing]
3. verb
If you steam food or if it steams, you cook it in steam rather than in water.
Steam the carrots until they are just beginning to be tender. [VERB noun]
Leave the vegetables to steam over the rice for the 20 minutes cooking time. [VERB]
...steamed clams and broiled chicken. [VERB-ed]
cook
4.
See full steam ahead
5.
See to let off steam
6.
See pick up steam
7.
See to run out of steam
8.
See under one's own steam
Phrasal verbs:
See steam ahead
See steam up
More Synonyms of steam
steam in British English
(stiːm)
noun
1.
the gas or vapour into which water is changed when boiled
2.
the mist formed when such gas or vapour condenses in the atmosphere
3.
any vaporous exhalation
4. informal
power, energy, or speed
5. get up steam
6. let off steam
7. under one's own steam
8. Australian slang
cheap wine
9. (modifier)
driven, operated, heated, powered, etc, by steam
a steam radiator
10. (modifier)
treated by steam
steam ironed
steam cleaning
11. (modifier) humorous
old-fashioned; outmoded
steam radio
verb
12.
to emit or be emitted as steam
13. (intransitive)
to generate steam, as a boiler, etc
14. (intransitive)
to move or travel by steam power, as a ship, etc
15. (intransitive) informal
to proceed quickly and sometimes forcefully
16.
to cook or be cooked in steam
17. (transitive)
to treat with steam or apply steam to, as in cleaning, pressing clothes, etc
Word origin
Old English; related to Dutch stoom steam, perhaps to Old High German stioban to raise dust, Gothic stubjus dust
steam in American English
(stim)
noun
1. Obsolete
a vapor, fume, or exhalation
2.
a.
water as converted into an invisible vapor or gas by being heated to the boiling point; vaporized water: it is used for heating, cooking, cleaning, and, under pressure, as a source of power
b.
the power supplied by steam under pressure
c. Informal
driving force; vigor; energy
3.
condensed water vapor, seen as the mist condensed on windows or in the air above boiling water
adjective
4.
using steam; heated, operated, propelled, etc. by steam
5.
containing or conducting steam
a steam pipe
6.
treated with, or exposed to the action of, steam
verb intransitive
7.
to give off steam or a steamlike vapor, esp. condensed water vapor
8.
to rise or be given off as steam
9.
to become covered with condensed steam
usually with up
when the hot bath was drawn, the bathroom mirror steamed up
10.
to generate steam
11.
to move or travel by or as if by steam power
12. Informal
to seethe with anger, vexation, etc.; fume
verb transitive
13.
to treat with, or expose to the action of, steam; cook, soften, remove, open, etc. by using steam
14.
to give off (vapor) or emit as steam
Idioms:
let off steam
steam up
under one's own steam
Word origin
ME steme < OE steam, akin to Du stoom, WFris steam
More idioms containing
steam
a head of steam
build up a head of steam
have steam coming out of your ears
do something under your own steam
go full steam ahead
go somewhere under your own steam
let off steam
pick up steam
run out of steam
Examples of 'steam' in a sentence
steam
The steam and power shower in the master suite has its own light show.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You have to be prepared to go full steam ahead.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Try baking or steaming it rather than frying.
Martlew, Gillian & Silver, Shelley Stay Well This Winter (1989)
Why have we got so steamed up about heat?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Place in a suitable pot to steam until quite cooked through and tender.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The steam was red hot when it blew our way.
The Sun (2009)
Those with a higher metabolism tend to exercise and let off steam more often.
The Sun (2010)
She and her partner spend a lot of time in steam rooms.
The Sun (2011)
The bird is tender through steaming and lower in fat and calories.
The Sun (2009)
Transfer to a dish and serve with steamed basmati rice and a green salad.
The Sun (2012)
It is full steam ahead for a whole new world of ski holidays by train.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It will full steam ahead for you this week.
The Sun (2016)
All clams will open and cook with steaming.
Smith, Drew Food Watch (1994)
One end it would be steaming hot and the other would be soaking wet.
The Sun (2012)
The players have battered one another and let off steam.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Great ships and tankers steam by.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Most ships of the 1900s were constructed of metal and powered by steam.
Smout, T.C. & Wood, Sydney Scottish Voices 1745-1960 (1990)
It's worth roasting rather than steaming or boiling the squash to intensify flavour.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I wonder if it derives in any way from steam engines.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
TV dinners are abandoned steaming on a coffee table as Foster shows them what to do.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
steam
British English: steam /stiːm/ NOUN
Steam is the hot mist that forms when water boils. Steam vehicles and machines are powered by steam.
The heat converts water into steam.
American English: steam
Arabic: بُخَار
Brazilian Portuguese: vapor
Chinese: 蒸汽
Croatian: para
Czech: pára
Danish: damp
Dutch: stoom
European Spanish: vapor
Finnish: höyry
French: vapeur
German: Dampf
Greek: ατμός
Italian: vapore
Japanese: 蒸気
Korean: 수증기
Norwegian: damp
Polish: para wodna
European Portuguese: vapor
Romanian: abur
Russian: пар
Latin American Spanish: vapor
Swedish: ånga
Thai: ไอน้ำ
Turkish: buhar
Ukrainian: пара
Vietnamese: hơi nước
British English: steam VERB
If something steams, it gives off steam.
...restaurants where coffee pots steamed on their burners.
American English: steam
Brazilian Portuguese: fumegar
Chinese: 冒蒸汽
European Spanish: echar vapor
French: fumer
German: dampfen
Italian: fumarecibo, bevanda calda
Japanese: 蒸す
Korean: 김을 내다
European Portuguese: fumegar
Latin American Spanish: echar vapor
All related terms of 'steam'
dry steam
steam that does not contain droplets of water
steam box
a boat or ship driven by steam-engines
steam fog
fog caused by cold air flowing over a body of comparatively warm water, the vapor condensing in small convective columns near the water surface and giving the appearance of smoke or steam
steam up
If someone gets steamed up about something, they are very annoyed about it.
wet steam
steam , usually low-pressure , that contains water droplets in suspension
live steam
steam supplied directly from a boiler at full pressure , before it has performed any work
steam ahead
If an economy or company steams ahead , it becomes stronger and more successful .
steam bath
a room or enclosure that can be filled with steam in which people bathe to induce sweating and refresh or cleanse themselves
steam-chest
a chamber that encloses the slide valve of a steam-engine and forms a manifold for the steam supply to the valve
steam coal
coal suitable for use in producing steam , as in a steam-boiler
steam heat
heat provided by steam
steam iron
A steam iron is an electric iron that produces steam from water that you put into it. The steam makes it easier to get the creases out of your clothes.
steam organ
a type of organ powered by steam , once common at fairgrounds , in which the pipes are sounded either by a keyboard or in a sequence determined by a moving punched card
steam point
the temperature at which the maximum vapour pressure of water is equal to one atmosphere (1.01325 × 10 5 N/m 2 ). It has the value of 100° on the Celsius scale
steam radio
radio, seen as old-fashioned in comparison with television
steam room
a room that can be filled with steam for use as a steam bath
steam table
a serving table or counter , as in restaurants , having a metal top with compartments heated by steam or hot water below, to keep foods warm
steam train
a locomotive powered by steam
steam trap
a device in a steam pipe that collects and discharges condensed water
steam-boiler
a vessel in which water is boiled to generate steam . An industrial boiler usually consists of a system of parallel tubes through which water passes, suspended above a furnace
steam-driven
powered by steam
steam engine
an engine that uses the thermal energy of steam to produce mechanical work, esp one in which steam from a boiler is expanded in a cylinder to drive a reciprocating piston
steam hammer
a hammer for forging , operated by steam
steam heating
Steam heating is the use of steam to heat storage tanks in oil terminals and tankers .
steam jacket
a jacket containing steam that surrounds and heats a cylinder
steam-shovel
a steam-driven mechanical excavator , esp one having a large bucket or grab on a beam slung from a revolving jib
steam turbine
a turbine driven by steam
steam whistle
a type of whistle sounded by a blast of steam , as used formerly in factories , on locomotives , etc
get up steam
(of a ship, etc) to work up a sufficient head of steam in a boiler to drive an engine
steam cracking
Steam cracking is the main method of breaking down large molecules of hydrocarbons , in which a gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon is diluted with steam and then heated.
steam generator
A steam generator is a vessel or stage in which water is heated to produce steam.
steam reforming
a process in which methane from natural gas is heated , with steam , usually with a catalyst , to produce a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen used in organic synthesis and as a fuel
blow off steam
→ steam (sense 6 )
head of steam
momentum ; driving power
let off steam
to do or say something which helps you to get rid of your strong feelings about something
pick up steam
If a belief , a plan , or a project picks up steam , it starts to develop and become more important.
steam locomotive
a locomotive moved by steam power generated in its own boiler
a head of steam
a lot of support for something such as a plan or cause
full steam ahead
If something such as a plan or a project goes full steam ahead , it progresses quickly.
run out of steam
to become weaker or less active , and often to stop completely
to let off steam
If you let off steam , you get rid of your energy , anger , or strong emotions with physical activity or by behaving in a noisy or violent way .
high-pressure steam
High-pressure steam is steam which is at or above 75 pounds per square inch gauge pressure.
go full steam ahead
to start to carry out a particular project in a thorough and determined way
to run out of steam
If you run out of steam , you stop doing something because you have no more energy or enthusiasm left .
under one's own steam
If you do something under your own steam , you do it without any help from anyone else.
steamroll
a steam-powered vehicle with heavy rollers at the front and rear used for compressing road surfaces during road-making
steamroller
A steamroller is a large, heavy vehicle with wide , solid metal wheels , which is used to make the surface of a road flat . In the past steamrollers were powered by steam .
build up a head of steam
to gradually become more and more angry , anxious , or emotional about something until you can no longer hide your feelings
to build up a head of steam
to develop power
do something under your own steam
to do something on your own, without help from anyone else