stove

¹ American  

[stohv] / stoʊv /

noun

1. a portable or fixed apparatus that furnishes heat for warmth, cooking, etc., commonly using coal, oil, gas, wood, or electricity as a source of power.

2. a heated chamber or box for some special purpose, as a drying room or a kiln for firing pottery.

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verb (used with object)

stoved, stoving

1. to treat with or subject to heat, as in a stove.

stove ² American  

[stohv] / stoʊv /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of stave.

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stove ¹ British  

/ stəʊv /

noun

1. another word for cooker

2. any heating apparatus, such as a kiln

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verb

1. to process (ceramics, metalwork, etc) by heating in a stove

2. to stew (meat, vegetables, etc)

stove ² British  

/ stəʊv /

verb

1. a past tense and past participle of stave

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Etymology

Origin of stove

1425–75; (noun) late Middle English: sweat bath, heated room, probably < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, cognate with Old English stofa, stofu heated room for bathing, Old High German stuba ( German Stube room; bierstube ), Old Norse stofa; early Germanic borrowing < Vulgar Latin *extupa, *extūpa (> French étuve sweat room of a bath; stew ¹ ), noun derivative of *extūpāre, *extūfāre to fill with vapor, equivalent to Latin ex- ex- ¹ + Vulgar Latin *-tūfāre < Greek tȳ́phein to raise smoke, smoke, akin to tŷphos fever ( typhus ); alternatively explained as a native Germanic base, borrowed into Romance ( izba ); (v.) late Middle English stoven to subject to hot-air bath, derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

King recalled grieving "at the stove top" and said cooking "was the way of mam showing her love and care".

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

"The roof was like a stove," she said.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Authorities say the fire started in the carport after Hales, 46, failed to turn off a propane tank to a stove she was using to make tortilla chips and left it on overnight.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

The house in the small town had a large fireplace and a gas stove, providing warmth and the ability to cook regardless of the blackouts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

When we got home, Tansy was at the stove, looking way too solid to ever be a ghost.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• boiler
• cooker
• heater
• kiln
• microwave
• oven