- the hot gas that water changes into when it boils
- Steam rose from the boiling kettle.
- a Turkish steam bath
Extra Examples- Steam rose from her mug of cocoa.
- The hotel has a steam room.
- The saucepan puffed little jets of steam.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- hot
- cloud
- jet
- generate
- produce
- come
- escape
- rise
- …
- power
- engine
- locomotive
- …
- the age of steam
- the power that is produced from steam under pressure, used to operate engines, machines, etc.
- the introduction of steam in the 18th century
- steam power
- the steam age
- a steam train/engine
- The engine is driven by steam.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- hot
- cloud
- jet
- generate
- produce
- come
- escape
- rise
- …
- power
- engine
- locomotive
- …
- the age of steam
- very small drops of water that form in the air or on cold surfaces when warm air suddenly cools synonym condensation
- She wiped the steam from her glasses.
Word OriginOld English stēam ‘vapour’, stēman ‘emit a scent, be exhaled’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stoom ‘steam’.
Idioms
See steam in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee steam in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishblow/let off steam
- (informal) to get rid of your energy, anger or strong emotions by doing something active or noisy
- I went for a long walk to let off steam.
- I like blowing off steam and I like saying things that shock people.
full speed/steam ahead | (at) full steam
- with as much speed or energy as possible
- Business picked up at the beginning of the year and now it is full steam ahead.
- The team is working full steam on the next release.
- All of the major players are operating at full steam.
get, etc. somewhere under your own steam
- (informal) to go somewhere without help from other people
- I’ll get to the party under my own steam.
get up/pick up steam
- (informal) to become gradually more powerful, active, etc.
- His election campaign is beginning to get up steam.
- (of a vehicle) to increase speed gradually
head of steam
- the pressure produced by steam in a small space
- The old engine still manages to build up a good head of steam.
- a situation in which somebody/something becomes gradually more active or successful
- This campaign has been steadily building up a head of steam.
- United have recently gathered a head of steam in the title race.
run out of steam
- (informal) to lose energy and enthusiasm and stop doing something, or do it less well
Check pronunciation:
steam