v. t. 1. To help; to support; to benefit; to assist. [ 1913 Webster ]

Perhaps my succour or advisement meet,
Mote stead you much your purpose to subdue. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

It nothing steads us
To chide him from our eaves. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fill the place of. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. stede place, AS. stede; akin to LG. & D. stede, OS. stad, stedi, OHG. stat, G. statt, stätte, Icel. staðr, Dan. sted, Sw. stad, Goth. staþs, and E. stand. √163. See Stand, and cf. Staith, Stithy. ] 1. Place, or spot, in general. [ Obs., except in composition. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fly, therefore, fly this fearful stead anon. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Place or room which another had, has, or might have. “Stewards of your steads.” Piers Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

In stead of bounds, he a pillar set. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The genial bed,
Sallow the feet, the borders, and the stead. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A farmhouse and offices. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word is now commonly used as the last part of a compound; as, farmstead, homestead, roadstead, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

In stead of, in place of. See Instead. --
To stand in stead, or
To do stead, to be of use or great advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

The smallest act . . . shall stand us in great stead. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here thy sword can do thee little stead. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Stead + fast, that is, fast in place. ] [ Written also stedfast. ] 1. Firmly fixed or established; fast fixed; firm. “This steadfast globe of earth.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not fickle or wavering; constant; firm; resolute; unswerving; steady. “Steadfast eye.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abide steadfast unto him [ thy neighbor ] in the time of his trouble. Ecclus. xxii. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whom resist steadfast in the faith. 1 Pet. v. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steadfast manner; firmly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steadfastly believe that whatever God has revealed is infallibly true. Wake. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being steadfast; firmness; fixedness; constancy. “The steadfastness of your faith.” Col. ii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

To prove her wifehood and her steadfastness. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steady manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being steady. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steadiness is a point of prudence as well as of courage. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Constancy; resolution; unchangeableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The barns, stables, cattle-yards, etc., of a farm; -- called also onstead, farmstead, farm offices, or farmery. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become steady; to regain a steady position or state; to move steadily. [ 1913 Webster ]

Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Steadier superl. Steadiest. ] [ Cf. AS. stedig sterile, barren, staeððig, steady (in gestaeððig), D. stedig, stadig, steeg, G. stätig, stetig. See Stead, n. ] 1. Firm in standing or position; not tottering or shaking; fixed; firm. “The softest, steadiest plume.” Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their feet steady, their hands diligent, their eyes watchful, and their hearts resolute. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Constant in feeling, purpose, or pursuit; not fickle, changeable, or wavering; not easily moved or persuaded to alter a purpose; resolute; as, a man steady in his principles, in his purpose, or in the pursuit of an object. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Regular; constant; undeviating; uniform; as, the steady course of the sun; a steady breeze of wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Fixed; regular; uniform; undeviating; invariable; unremitted; stable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Steady rest (Mach), a rest in a turning lathe, to keep a long piece of work from trembling. [ 1913 Webster ]