stow away
Idioms-
Put aside or store something until needed, as in We generally stow away the lawn furniture in the toolshed . [Late 1700s]
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Hide oneself aboard ship or in a vehicle in order to get free transportation, as in The youngsters planned to stow away on a freighter but they never even got to the waterfront . This usage gave rise to the noun stowaway . [Mid-1800s]
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Greedily consume food or drink, as in Bob sure can stow away a lot in a short time . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]
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.
An impending heatwave has threatened to stow away — or rather, further preserve — countless tins of anchovies.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
The bigger challenge is to stow away enough fuel for next winter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
The change makes γ-TuRC stow away one of its 14 tubulins, effectively matching the design of the microtubule that needs only 13 rows.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2024
He’s managed to stow away some money but had to dip into his savings to fix the roof on his house.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
He’d gotten the idea for the picture from his last trip with his father to San Francisco, when he’d been busted trying to stow away on a plane to Peshawar.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
