stoke

¹ American  

[stohk] / stoʊk /

verb (used with object)

stokes, present (3rd person singular) stoked, past participle, past stoking present participle

1. to poke, stir up, and feed (a fire).

2. to tend the fire of (a furnace, especially one used with a boiler to generate steam for an engine); supply with fuel.

---

verb (used without object)

stokes, present (3rd person singular) stoked, past participle, past stoking present participle

1. to shake up the coals of a fire.

2. to tend a fire or furnace.

stoke ² American  

[stohk] / stoʊk /

noun

Physics.

1. a unit of kinematic viscosity, equal to the viscosity of a fluid in poises divided by the density of the fluid in grams per cubic centimeter.

---

stoke British  

/ stəʊk /

verb

1. to feed, stir, and tend (a fire, furnace, etc)

2. (tr) to tend the furnace of; act as a stoker for

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• stoking
  present
• stoked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stoke
  simple
• stokes
  simple
• have stoked
  perfect
• has stoked
  perfect
• am stoking
  progressive
• are stoking
  progressive
• is stoking
  progressive
• have been stoking
  perfect progressive
• has been stoking
  perfect progressive

Past

• stoked
  simple
• had stoked
  perfect
• was stoking
  progressive
• were stoking
  progressive
• had been stoking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stoke
  simple
• will have stoked
  perfect
• will be stoking
  progressive
• will have been stoking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stoke¹

1675–85; < Dutch stoken to feed or stock a fire; see stock

Origin of stoke²

After Sir G. Stokes

Explanation

To stoke is to poke a fire and fuel it so that it burns higher. Stoke can also mean "incite" — a principal's impassive silence in the face of requests for more tater tots might stoke the flames of student anger. When a surfer says, "I am so stoked," it means she is excited — the fire of enthusiasm is burning hotter. It's interesting to reflect on how many words in our language have to do with the tending of fires, an activity that has become much less common in recent human history.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stoke stokes stoked stoking

They are expected to provide clarity and tamp down unwarranted panic, not stoke conspiracy theories.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

If you fantasize about retiring abroad, stories of blissful expats will only stoke your desire.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Others see his comments as grandstanding meant to stoke investor excitement for what’s being sold as a godlike technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Shortly afterwards, Swinney said: "Police Scotland have issued a warning about deliberate misinformation that is being used to stoke up fear and alarm in our communities."

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

Several evenings later, just before darkness completely obscured the path, Amari, exhausted from the labors of the day, hurried to finish gathering kindling to stoke Teenie’s fire during the night.

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper

“Geopolitical tension should drive safe-haven buying, but when it spikes oil, it stokes inflation, which pushes the Fed to tighten — and that’s gold’s kryptonite,” he said, referring to gold’s weakness.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

A pattern emerges: The crowd suspects a problem, then Pangram validates the suspicion, stokes the mob, and sells the solution.

From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026

If inflation accelerates and stokes expectations of higher prices, the central bank will respond, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

That is likely true, but if the AI-inspired rally has taught us anything, it is that the old rule that uncertainty stokes a selloff doesn’t seem to apply anymore.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025

Bree stokes the small fire and places more pots of tea on the iron rack.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Under former general manager Perry Minasian, college players would be stoked to be drafted by the Angels, who did not hesitate to promote top prospects to the major leagues after the briefest of minor-league stints.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

“Interest rates picked up this week as the gradual breakdown of the ceasefire with Iran has stoked fears of further inflation and geopolitical instability,” Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Meta’s plan to sell excess AI computing power stoked concerns that tech companies have overbuilt data-center capacity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

It also further stoked an inner fire which Fery says he inherits from his parents and often displays in his matches.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Smoke curled from his proud lips, as though the same crackling sparks that lent his blue eyes their intensity now stoked a blaze beneath his skin.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

That would offer a boost to equities, without stoking fears of a slowdown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Last week, Salesforce announced the acquisition of customer-agent company Fin for roughly $3.6 billion, further stoking investor discontent.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Traders remain in buoyant mood after news that the two foes had ended their conflict, which had sent energy costs soaring and stoking inflation, sending shivers through the global economy.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Not long after, AI took off, stoking demand for a particular memory chip well-suited for use in computers that train and query popular artificial-intelligence models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Aaron asked, stoking a fire he pretended he didn't know was there.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• feed
• stir