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.
The bigger challenge is to stow away enough fuel for next winter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
She arranges for Paddington to stow away on a cargo ship to England and tells him to write to her at the Home for Retired Bears.
From Salon • Jan. 20, 2025
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
Over the next few days, Lyra concocted a dozen plans and dismissed them impatiently; for they all boiled down to stowing away, and how could you stow away on a narrowboat?
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
