stew

¹ American  

[stoo, styoo] / stu, stju /

verb (used with object)

stews, present (3rd person singular) stewed, past participle, past stewing present participle

1. to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling.

---

verb (used without object)

stews, present (3rd person singular) stewed, past participle, past stewing present participle

1. to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling.

2. Informal. to fret, worry, or fuss.

   He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day.

3. to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter.

noun

1. a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, especially a mixture of meat and vegetables.

   Synonyms:

   ragout, casserole

2. Informal. a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry.

3. a brothel; whorehouse.

4. stews, a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels.

5. Obsolete. a vessel for boiling or stewing.

idioms

1. stew in one's own juice, to suffer the consequences of one's own actions.

stew ² American  

[stoo, styoo] / stu, stju /

noun

Slang.

1. a male or female flight attendant.

---

stew ¹ British  

/ stjuː /

noun

1. 1. a dish of meat, fish, or other food, cooked by stewing

   2. ( as modifier )

      stew pot

2. informal a difficult or worrying situation or a troubled state (esp in the phrase in a stew )

3. a heterogeneous mixture

   a stew of people of every race

4. archaic (usually plural) a brothel

5. obsolete a public room for hot steam baths

---

verb

1. to cook or cause to cook by long slow simmering

2. informal (intr) to be troubled or agitated

3. informal (intr) to be oppressed with heat or crowding

4. to cause (tea) to become bitter or (of tea) to become bitter through infusing for too long

5. to suffer unaided the consequences of one's actions

stew ² British  

/ stjuː /

noun

1. a fishpond or fishtank

2. an artificial oyster bed

---

stew More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stew

• in a stew

---

Synonym Usage

See boil ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stewable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• stewing
  present
• stewed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stew
  simple
• stews
  simple
• have stewed
  perfect
• has stewed
  perfect
• am stewing
  progressive
• are stewing
  progressive
• is stewing
  progressive
• have been stewing
  perfect progressive
• has been stewing
  perfect progressive

Past

• stewed
  simple
• had stewed
  perfect
• was stewing
  progressive
• were stewing
  progressive
• had been stewing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stew
  simple
• will have stewed
  perfect
• will be stewing
  progressive
• will have been stewing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stew¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English steuen, stuwe “to take a sweat bath,” from Middle French estuver, verbal derivative of estuve “sweat room of a bath”; see origin at stove ¹

Origin of stew²

An Americanism dating back to 1970–1975; shortening of steward ( def. ) or stewardess ( def. )

Explanation

To stew is to slowly cook food, which results in a soup-like food called a stew. To stew also means to brood angrily. If you cook something slowly, like beef or vegetables, you stew it. The result of stewing is also called stew, which is usually chunky, like a thick soup. People can stew in another way when it comes to emotions. If your sister sits and worries about something, she stews. The root of stew is the Old French estuver, "bathe or stew." Back in the fourteenth century, stew was also a slang word meaning "brothel or bath house."

Example Sentences

With little energy available to disrupt it, the omega pattern can persist for days -- or weeks -- allowing heat to stew and temperatures to intensify beneath it.

From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026

A spoonful whisked into a skirt steak stew can make it taste as though it simmered well past dinnertime.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

Each entrée contained approximately 3.0-3.5 ounces of meat and was served in foods such as fajitas, burgers, stew, burritos, and stir fry.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

Foley fancies himself something of a hot sauce aficionado, saying he adds Frank’s RedHot on everything from leftover beef stew to chicken chili.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Tyler of the stew is in front of her.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

• boil
• fret
• fume
• seethe
• simmer