blast furnace

American  

noun

1. a large vertical furnace for smelting iron from ore, using coke as fuel: designed so as to direct a continuous blast of air through the fuel in order to obtain a high rate of combustion.

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blast furnace British  

noun

1. a vertical cylindrical furnace for smelting iron, copper, lead, and tin ores. The ore, scrap, solid fuel, and slag-forming materials are fed through the top and a blast of preheated air is forced through the charge from the bottom. Metal and slag are run off from the base

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Etymology

Origin of blast furnace

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Flirting between gears near its 8,600-rpm redline, the Z06 roars and seethes like a blast furnace.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

The veteran Democratic campaign strategist, who has been described as possessing “a pile-driving personality and blast furnace of a mouth” — by me, actually — has never lacked for strong and colorful opinions.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2025

The company expects to add about 400 employees at Granite City to operate the blast furnace, raising the plant’s workforce to about 1,200, a person familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Sue Jeffrey, then Labour leader of Redcar Council, remembers watching the blast furnace in action, on one of its final days in use.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Mecca is surrounded by the crudest-looking mountains I have ever seen; they seem to be made of the slag from a blast furnace.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey