preheat

American  

[pree-heet] / priˈhit /

verb (used with object)

1. to heat before using or before subjecting to some further process.

   to preheat an oven before baking a cake.

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preheat British  

/ priːˈhiːt /

verb

1. to heat (an oven, grill, pan, etc) beforehand

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Other Word Forms

• preheater noun

Etymology

Origin of preheat

First recorded in 1895–1900; pre- + heat

Explanation

To preheat is to make something become hot beforehand, especially an oven before you bake something in it. Frozen pizza tastes better if you preheat your oven before you cook it. You're most likely to find the verb preheat in a recipe. You might want to preheat your grill for a certain length of time before the guests show up for your barbecue, or preheat your oven before baking a loaf of bread. Preheating ensures that you'll be cooking food at an even, steady temperature and makes it easier not to burn or undercook it. A clue about this word's meaning is the "before" prefix, pre-.

Example Sentences

It worked just as well layered over a sheet and under a comforter to preheat the bed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350ºF.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 5, 2023

This is easy to do after you preheat the grill and before you put the food on it; and after you cook.

From Washington Times • May 28, 2023

“In ovens that preheated using both the top and bottom elements, food put in before the preheat cycle was up burned on top,” Cook’s Illustrated found.

From Washington Post • Apr. 7, 2023

Then I turned the oven on to preheat to 350 degrees and started on my vanilla cupcake recipe.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks