seeped; seeping; seeps
1
: to flow or pass slowly through fine pores or small openings : ooze
water seeped in through a crack
2
a
: to enter or penetrate slowly
… fear of nuclear war had seeped into the national consciousness.—
Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill
b
: to become diffused or spread
… a sadness seeped through his being.—Agnes S. Turnbull
Agnes S. Turnbull1
a
: a spot where a fluid (such as water, oil, or gas) contained in the ground oozes slowly to the surface and often forms a pool
b
: a small spring
2
: seepage
Examples of seep in a Sentence
Verb
Blood was seeping through the bandage.
The chemicals seeped into the ground.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
As the egg loses moisture and some of the carbon dioxide that was dissolved in the white part, oxygen seeps in and the air cell grows larger; this causes that end to float.
—Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2026
Frank Glaser, Outdoor Life, 1 Apr. 2026
Toxic chemicals used in leather tanning seep into rivers and into human bodies.
—Harry Booth, Time, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for seep
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Verb
My goal was to inspect calcium carbonate rocks, found near methane seeps at the base of the canyon walls, in search of methane-eating microbes.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
As the egg loses moisture and some of the carbon dioxide that was dissolved in the white part, oxygen seeps in and the air cell grows larger; this causes that end to float.
—Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2026
Noun
The five wolves were converging on the caribou at the coal seep.
—Frank Glaser, Outdoor Life, 1 Apr. 2026
Toxic chemicals used in leather tanning seep into rivers and into human bodies.
—Harry Booth, Time, 27 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for seep
Cite this Entry
“Seep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seep. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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