steady
verb/ˈstedi/
/ˈstedi/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they steady | /ˈstedi/ /ˈstedi/ |
| he / she / it steadies | /ˈstediz/ /ˈstediz/ |
| past simple steadied | /ˈstedid/ /ˈstedid/ |
| past participle steadied | /ˈstedid/ /ˈstedid/ |
| -ing form steadying | /ˈstediɪŋ/ /ˈstediɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] steady (yourself/somebody/something) to stop yourself/somebody/something from moving, shaking or falling; to stop moving, shaking or falling
- She steadied herself against the wall.
- The lift rocked slightly, steadied, and the doors opened.
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- [intransitive] to stop changing and become regular again
- Her heartbeat steadied.
- steady against something The pound steadied against the dollar.
- [transitive] steady somebody/something to make somebody/something calm
- He took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘unwavering, without deviation’): from stead + -y. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.
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steady