What it means
Means very drunk, especially in Scottish and UK chat. If someone's steamin, they're not just tipsy, they're flushed, loud, overfriendly, and halfway to making a daft decision with full confidence. You also hear pure steamin when the person's absolutely gone and the night's properly off the rails.
Usage examples
"He was pure steamin at the reception, singing Oasis at the top of his lungs, then tried to dance and went straight into the cake."
"Half the wedding party was steamin by the time the cake came out and nobody could find the groom."
"He got steamin at the match and spent the whole second half explaining the offside rule to a lamppost."
"By half eleven he was steamin, telling the bouncer they were best pals and dropping chips all down his jumper."
"We only meant to go for one, but Sarah was pure steamin by closing time and trying to order a taxi from the cash machine."
Where it comes from
It comes from steaming, a long-established British slang term for being very drunk, especially common in Scotland. Steamin is just the clipped spoken form, the kind that feels quicker and more matey in everyday banter. Pure steamin turns the dial up again and makes the whole scene sound even messier.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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