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:
He said the facility’s staff does not clean the floors, dining tables or the microwave.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The proposed system would use conventional frying to brown the surface and create crunch, while microwave energy would speed moisture removal and help prevent excess oil from entering the potato.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Gaofen 3 uses 'synthetic aperture radar,' or SAR, which emits microwave pulses to gather data, capturing imagery at any time of day or night, regardless of cloud cover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
If you prefer a warmer snack, simply pan-sear the butter-stuffed dates in more butter, or pop them in the microwave for six to eight seconds.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Later that evening I heat up two big bowls of chicken soup in the microwave and Charlie reads a sports magazine at the dinner table.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
The frequency is similar to that of microwaves.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Either electrical current from divertors or from microwaves ionizes the gas, igniting an electrically charged plasma ring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Terahertz radiation sits between microwaves and infrared light on the electromagnetic spectrum.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 17, 2026
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions provides technologies that can disable drones with microwaves.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
Rotating slowly in eternal sunshine, Libra would have abundant solar energy, so much, in fact, that some could be converted into microwaves and beamed back to earth.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
On New Year’s Eve, Amanda and I celebrated with nobody else, but watched the live feed from Times Square, while eating microwaved burritos in bed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
"So we went and took snow from the backyard and microwaved it and it's clear - is this bad? Am I not supposed to eat snow?"
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2024
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
The power of showing a Black love story from start to finish — despite the microwaved timeline — cannot be understated.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
You eat fast food or the hot dogs and Styrofoam cups of soup that can be microwaved in a convenience store.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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
The punishing heat wave microwaving Southern California is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to much of the region for the next few days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2024
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 recording includes Banksy comparing his approach to art - which involves producing graffiti undercover at speed - to microwaving meals.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2023
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.
