verb
Steve
steev
verb
1
To load and pack cargo tightly into a ship's hold.
"Dockworkers steved the crates as close together as possible to save space."
noun
1
A rare, ribbon-like purple and green light seen in the night sky at latitudes lower than where typical auroras occur, caused by a fast-moving stream of charged particles.
"Photographers across southern Canada captured a bright STEVE stretching across the horizon."
How to Use Steve
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither an old nautical term for packing cargo, or a recently named strange light seen in the night sky.
Memory tip
As a first name, Steve is just a common short form of Stephen — the two rarer senses above are the ones worth learning as dictionary words.
Trace the full origin ↓Word Forms
steved past tense, Steves plural, steves singular
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Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Dockworkers _____ the crates as close together as possible to save space.
Etymology
The sky-phenomenon sense began as a jokey placeholder name given by citizen scientists before it was retrofitted into the backronym "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement."