seep away


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seep away

1. Literally, of a gas or liquid, to flow out and escape from (something) gradually but steadily, as through a leak, crack, puncture, etc. There must have be a leak in the oil tank of the car, because it keeps seeping away onto the driveway. Make sure you close the valve tight on that jar—we don't want any of the gas to seep away.
2. By extension, to dwindle or disappear gradually but steadily. The goodwill he had earned with his employers began seeping away after he started showing up to work late. Once the undisputed kings of Hollywood, the movie studios good fortunes began to seep away after a series of poor business decisions.
See also: away, seep

seep away

[for a fluid] to escape little by little, as through a leak. All the oil seeped away, leaving none in the engine. The water seeped away after a while.
See also: away, seep
References in periodicals archive ?
And the longer they go without managing that, the more the belief will seep away.
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Your creativity can be high, but just as you go and demonstrate this, your energy can seep away, or you can feel overwhelmed by options or possibilities.
Your Stars
But the trees sucked up moisture from the ground and newly dug drainage channels allowed water - the life blood of the bogs - to seep away.
The bog that has got out of the mire; Vital wetland restored to natural glory
However, should Pierce's timing be fractionally out of synch against Likhovtseva, she could make more errors and her newfound self-belief may steadily seep away.
Tennis: French Open: Pierce to suffer semi-final agony
Mother said "if you think of them all at once it would seep away your energy.
When the storm hit us
Ideal bedtime reading in fact as it gets you relaxed, laughing and smiling at the situations and descriptions, while feeling your stress seep away.
REVIEW: Friends, Voters, Countrymen: Jottings on the Stump
Clarence Arthur Wilmot, a narrow-chested 44-year-old with a drooping mustache and "a certain afterglow of masculine beauty," suffers a great "ruinous pang" as the last shreds of his faith suddenly seep away.
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Unless banks take stronger actions, customer trust - the life blood of every financial institution - will seep away.
Unisys Research Shows Banks Face Potential Customer Exodus Over Identity Theft; Nationwide Survey Shows One-Fifth of Americans Have Experienced Identity Theft
It's no coincidence the feel-good factor that has rightly enveloped Goodison for much of the campaign started to seep away since the failure, for whatever reason, to strengthen during the January transfer window.
Abject display feels like the end of an era at Goodison; 'T'This doesn't change my thoughts, I still have the same appetite for job' - Moyes
Had we conceded then, it would have seen all our confidence totally seep away.
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The former is far less serious but the latter can see the value of shares seep away over several years.
Fears of a recession in the US; STOCK MARKET CRASH
At the end of the Seventies, New Music faced a real crisis in Britain when the already tiny audiences began to seep away.
SATELLITE PICK OF THE DAY
Far better to let the emotion seep away and examine the whole picture more calmly and forensically before deciding whether sweeping change really is such a good idea after all.
Football: Terrace talk is a step backwards; Sports VIEW
It could take hours for the rage to seep away, hours until Bill was able to un-poison his heart.
MORNING SERIAL
Set in the midst of some of Britain's most beautiful and unspoilt countryside, next to Hadrian's Wall, visitors are encouraged to let their worries seep away in the calmest of environments.
Versace is at your leisure at Matfen
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