Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gather steam

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.06 in modern English

Syllables: gath-er steam
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To increase in strength, popularity, or energy.

Informal; Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"He went on, “Like the term ‘Latinx,’ ‘queer’ was started by some humanities professor and slowly gathered steam. Then well-meaning radio producers and magazine editors thought, ‘Well, I guess that’s what they want to be called now!’ But I don’t remember any vote being taken.”"

Usage

Inflected Forms

gathers steam (present, singular) gathering steam (participle, present) gathered steam (participle, past) gathered steam (past)

Phrases

gather speed pick up speed

Frequently Paired Words

gather speed pick up speed

Synonyms

gain steam pick up steam

Antonyms

lose steam

Questions

What does gather steam mean?: To increase in strength, popularity, or energy.

How to pronounce gather steam

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gather steam”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “gather steam” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.