---
title: steep — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «steep» in the school dictionary: Rising or falling sharply, like a slope that is hard to climb. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# steep

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** slope, price, That, hill, you, steeper ramp · **What happens:** rise, fall, be, climb, soak, ride up · **To what, where:** something, steep path, ball, graph, tea, steep staircase

<!-- .vabout -->
«steep» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [steep in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/steep.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rising or falling sharply, like a slope that is hard to climb.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m1:1
# text = Rising or falling sharply, like a slope that is hard to climb.
1	Rising	rise	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	nsubj	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	falling	fall	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	sharply	sharply	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	slope	slope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	climb	climb	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rise** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **fall** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | like a slope; sharply *property* | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present | a slope |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **climb** | to-infinitive | a slope *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A price that is much too high.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m2:1
# text = A price that is much too high.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	price	price	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	too	too	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a price |  |  |  |  | high *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"That's a bit steep!"

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m2e:1
# text = "That's a bit steep!"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | That |  |  |  |  | a bit *obl:unmarked*; steep *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A big change.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m3:1
# text = A big change.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"a steep rise in prices".

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m3e:1
# text = "a steep rise in prices".
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	rise	rise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	prices	price	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As a verb, to soak something in liquid, like tea leaves in hot water.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:m4:1
# text = As a verb, to soak something in liquid, like tea leaves in hot water.
1	As	as	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	soak	soak	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	liquid	liquid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	hot	hot	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **soak** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | as a verb; like tea leaves in hot water; in liquid | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent something=Destination in liquid=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hill was too steep to ride up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x1:1
# text = The hill was too steep to ride up.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hill	hill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	ride	ride	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
8	up	up	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the hill |  |  |  |  | steep *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **ride up** | to-infinitive | the hill *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Walk carefully down the steep path.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x2:1
# text = Walk carefully down the steep path.
1	Walk	walk	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	down	down	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	path	path	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **walk** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | the steep path |  | carefully *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme down path=Trajectory |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A steeper ramp makes the ball roll faster.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x3:1
# text = A steeper ramp makes the ball roll faster.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	steeper	steep	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	ramp	ramp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	roll	roll	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	xcomp	_	_
8	faster	fast	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | a steeper ramp | the ball |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **roll** | present | the ball *not said here* |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
On the graph, the line gets steep when the temperature rises fast.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x4:1
# text = On the graph, the line gets steep when the temperature rises fast.
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	graph	graph	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
9	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	12	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	temperature	temperature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	rises	rise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
13	fast	fast	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | the line |  |  | the graph |  | steep *property* | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent on graph=Source |
| 2 | **rise** | present | the temperature |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ten dollars for a drink is a bit steep!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x5:1
# text = Ten dollars for a drink is a bit steep!
1	Ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	drink	drink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Ten dollars for a drink |  |  |  |  | a bit *obl:unmarked*; steep *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Steep the tea for three minutes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x6:1
# text = Steep the tea for three minutes.
1	Steep	steep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **steep** | imperative | you *not said here* | the tea |  |  | minute |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent tea=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then they knocked at the door, which opened straight on to a steep staircase.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:steep:x7:1
# text = Then they knocked at the door, which opened straight on to a steep staircase.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	knocked	knock	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	opened	open	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	on	on	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	steep	steep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	staircase	staircase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **knock** | past | they |  |  |  | then | at the door | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent at door=Patient |
| 2 | **open** | past |  |  | a steep staircase |  |  |  | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to staircase=Recipient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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