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DictionarysteamHot water vapor
noun / verb

steam

STEEM/stiːm/

Water vapor generated by heat.

Steam rises from the saucepan as its water boils on the hotplate.

A small uncovered saucepan of vigorously boiling water on a compact hotplate, with a clearly visible pale plume of steam curling upward.
Etymology
steamOld Englishvapor, fumes, odor

Old English steam covered vapor, fumes, and odors given off by heated or burned things. That broader meaning narrowed to water in its gaseous state, especially vapor produced by boiling.

In context

Chefs' Toys0:18
you add your water the water heats up and then the steam from that warm water keeps your food hot
Spillage Pans & Steam Tables - How do spillage pans work?

More examples

  • The hot soup steams in its bowl.
  • We steam the broccoli until it is tender.
  • Steam from the boiler powers the engine.

Forms

steam · steams · steamed · steaming

steamer noun — An appliance that cooks food with steam.

steamy adjective — Filled with or giving off steam.

Similar words

vapor
A gaseous substance, not necessarily water or produced by boiling.
mist
Tiny liquid droplets suspended in air, rather than gaseous water.