microwave
Americannoun
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microwaves
plural
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an electromagnetic wave of extremely high frequency, 1 GH 3 or more, and having wavelengths of from 1 millimeter to 30 centimeters.
verb (used without object)
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microwaves,
present (3rd person singular)
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microwaved,
past participle, past
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microwaving
present participle
verb (used with object)
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microwaves,
present (3rd person singular)
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microwaved,
past participle, past
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microwaving
present participle
noun
-
-
electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range 0.3 to 0.001 metres: used in radar, cooking, etc
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( as modifier )
microwave generator
-
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short for microwave oven
verb
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An electromagnetic wave with a frequency in the range of 100 megahertz to 30 gigahertz (lower than infrared but higher than other radio waves). Microwaves are used in radar, radio transmission, cooking, and other applications. Microwaves are generated naturally by many astronomical phenomena and are found in cosmic background radiation.
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See more at electromagnetic spectrum
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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microwavesimple
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microwavessimple
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have microwavedperfect
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has microwavedperfect
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am microwavingprogressive
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are microwavingprogressive
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is microwavingprogressive
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have been microwavingperfect progressive
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has been microwavingperfect progressive
Past
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microwavedsimple
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had microwavedperfect
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was microwavingprogressive
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were microwavingprogressive
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had been microwavingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of microwave
Explanation
A microwave is a small oven that cooks or heats food very quickly. Instead of the electric or gas heat that a regular oven uses, a microwave heats with electromagnetic radiation. While the heat of a regular oven (or a small toaster oven) surrounds your food and cooks it from the outside, with the heat working its way in, a microwave's radiation cooks most food from the inside out. Its radiation, or waves, penetrate the food and heat up any moisture inside it. These waves are themselves called microwaves because they're short (and micro- means "small"), similar to radio waves.
Vocabulary lists containing microwave
Physical Science - Energy - Introductory
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Middle School
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Physics - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Another asked Wynn to microwave her daughter’s lunch every day because she wouldn’t eat cold food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Researchers often protect quantum memories from environmental interference using microwave pulses that separate, or decouple, the memory from surrounding noise.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
As some critics have pointed out, many AI users are making cat GIFs, which uses the equivalent amount of energy as running a microwave for an hour.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
When you first step into South Hall, to your immediate right is “the bubble”—a barred enclosure fitted with chairs, a desk, a telephone, and a microwave.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Besides, his mother looked so tired, even right now, as she placed a bag of popcorn in the microwave.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
The action in Iran has also underscored that drones are delivering a new economics of warfare, which demands cheap cruise missiles, high-power microwaves for drone defense, reusable interceptors on ships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Terahertz radiation sits between microwaves and infrared light on the electromagnetic spectrum.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 17, 2026
Some of the carriages contain charging stations, as well as microwaves and access to satellite internet, according to the Ukrainian government.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
Wood said he tends to focus on electrical equipment - such as microwaves and kettles - as well as fixing laptops and has repaired around 50 appliances so far.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
At other times she was allowed to use microwaves.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Inside an Omaha test kitchen, executives at Conagra recently huddled over plastic trays of microwaved eggs, potatoes and sausage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The men eat microwaved taquitos, she pounds vitamins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Kantar found there were 4% fewer meals made using an oven in the 12 weeks to 11 June versus the same period last year, while microwaved meals rose 8%.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2023
Despite the fact that I started cooking the roasted ones before the microwaved version, the latter were not only done first, they were nicely cool before the roasted ones were ready.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 19, 2023
They were already eating, the smell of microwaved sausage and fried eggs coating the apartment, when Doreen walked in, carrying three bags of groceries.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
And there are darker sides to being viral: Some users on social media talked about microwaving NeeDohs to make them more pliable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
This android — one of two nameless leads in the Oscar-nominated charmer “Robot Dreams” — envisions a small, lonely dog in his third-floor walk-up, microwaving a depressing dinner for one.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
The sterilizing process isn’t that different from microwaving a frozen dinner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
While the concept of microwaving tea might sound a bit alien in the UK, it is "totally common" in the US.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2024
Nearly everything in the store required microwaving or oven heating or scrupulous refrigeration or came in large, family-sized quantities.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
