furnace

[fur-nis]

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noun

a structure or apparatus in which heat may be generated, as for heating houses, smelting ores, or producing steam.

a place characterized by intense heat: The volcano was a seething furnace.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Fornax.

verb (used with object), fur·naced, fur·nac·ing.

to heat (a metal piece) in a furnace.

Nearby words

Origin of furnace

1175–1225; Middle English furneis, furnais < Old French fornais, fournais < Latin fornāc- (stem of fornāx kiln, oven), akin to formus warm

Related formsfur·nace·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for furnace

The high-cheekboned actor wears a leather jacket and turtleneck and slicks back his hair in Out of the Furnace.
Willem Dafoe Cuts Like a Blade|Melissa Leon|December 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Scott had recently finished shooting the drama Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale.
Cause of Tony Scott’s Apparent Suicide Still Being Determined|Christine Pelisek|August 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A jet engine that is still functioning is basically a furnace, and the most likely first source of ignition.
The Year of Flying Dangerously|Clive Irving|December 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The retort ought to fill the furnace, so as to leave only the distance of an inch between it and the inside of the furnace.
Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chymistry, 5th ed.|Pierre Joseph Macquer

If parents threw their children into the furnace to Molech, why should they not devote their daughters to Ishtar?
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
The mosquitoes bit steadily, and the feather-bed was like a furnace seven times heated.
Everyday Adventures|Samuel Scoville
The electrodes are so arranged that it is possible by means of screwing to advance or withdraw them from the furnace.
Scientific American Supplement No. 822|Various
The furnace door must be opened, and the fire damped or regulated to suit the boiling of the wort.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,|Mary Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for furnace

furnace

noun

an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to generate steam, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc

a very hot or stifling place

Derived Formsfurnace-like, adjective

Word Origin for furnace

C13: from Old French fornais, from Latin fornax oven, furnace; related to Latin formus warm

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for furnace

furnace

early 13c., from Old French fornaise "oven, furnace" (12c.), from Latin fornacem (nominative fornax) "an oven, kiln," related to fornus, furnus "oven," and to formus "warm," from PIE root *ghwer- "warm" (cf. Greek thermos, Old English wearm; see warm (adj.)).

furnace

noun

verb (used with object), fur·naced, fur·nac·ing.

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Origin of furnace

Examples from the Web for furnace

furnace

noun

Word Origin for furnace

furnace