oven

American  

[uhv-uhn] / ˈʌv ən /

noun

1. a chamber or compartment, as in a stove, for baking, roasting, heating, drying, etc.

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oven British  

/ ˈʌvən /

noun

1. an enclosed heated compartment or receptacle for baking or roasting food

2. a similar device, usually lined with a refractory material, used for drying substances, firing ceramics, heat-treating, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to cook in an oven

Other Word Forms

• oven-like adjective
• ovenlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of oven

before 900; Middle English; Old English ofen; cognate with German Ofen, Old Norse ofn

Explanation

An oven is a device for baking food using heat. You probably scramble eggs on your stove but bake cupcakes in your oven. Most ovens are in kitchens, whether in private homes or restaurants. Every once in a while, you'll see an outdoor bread or pizza oven too — these are built of brick, stone, or clay, and can safely get hot enough to bake at very high temperatures. Another kind of oven is one that's used for baking ceramics, which is also called a kiln or sometimes a furnace. The very oldest ovens were built thousands of years ago in Central and Eastern Europe.

Example Sentences

The computers’ unique properties require less power, in the neighborhood of several kilowatts—comparable to a standard kitchen oven.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

All of the upper cabinets in the space were stripped out, with Lorenze revealing that the couple have left that area empty—save for the addition of an elegant new oven hood.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

At Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr’s reborn French restaurant in New York, instead of poaching the meringue they bake it before service in a low-temp oven for a miraculously brisk seven minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

And by the time the pan comes out of the oven, nothing feels separate anymore.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Naomi turns on the oven light, and I peer inside.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Related Words

• kiln
• microwave
• microwave oven
• stove