STEEP

(MAKE WET) [verb] - to (cause to) stay in a liquid, esp. in order to become soft or clean or to improve flavourThe stains in this towel will come out if you let it steep for a while. [I]Leave the cloth to steep in the dye overnight. [I]We had pears steeped in red wine for dinner. [T](figurative formal or literary) His hands are steeped in blood (= He has been responsible for the deaths of a lot of people). [T]To be steeped in something is to seem to be completely surrounded by it, or involved in it, or to have a lot of knowledge of it.The college is steeped in history/tradition.Part of the company's problem is that most of the managers are steeped in the old ways of doing things. [T]In eighth-century China, society was guided by scholars, steeped in poetry and painting, as well as by the principles of good government. [T]