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; cf. bierstube), Old Norse stofa; early Germanic borrowing < Vulgar Latin *extupa, *extūpa (> French étuve sweat room of a bath; cf. 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 ( see typhus); alternatively explained as a native Germanic base, borrowed into Romance ( cf. izba); (v.) late Middle English stoven to subject to hot-air bath, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A stove is a machine that heats or cooks. If you want really delicious popcorn, don't use the microwave — cook it the old-fashioned way, in a pot of hot oil on the stove. Stoves typically use gas or electricity. If you have a wood-burning stove in your house, you know it's an apparatus that burns split logs to create enough heat to warm up a room — or several rooms. In the 15th century, stove meant either "heated room" or "bathroom." Experts aren't sure about the word's origin, although some guess a connection to Vulgar Latin's extufare, "take a steam bath."

Example Sentences

An open layout features an entryway with two elegant staircases, while the kitchen is outfitted with a Sub-Zero fridge, Wolf gas stove, and large walk-in pantry.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

I keep a small ceramic salt dish by the stove, within easy reach — not tucked away in a cabinet, not measured out in careful teaspoons, but right there, open.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

Sitting around a wood stove and drinking cups of coffee and tea, the residents reflected on the upheavals that had become a regular feature of their lives.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

In 1839, after years of trying, he cracked the code for the uncrackable after rubber he had treated with sulfur somehow came in contact with a hot stove.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Jason turned off the stove, frustrated that the mixture had curdled again.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

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