hearth

noun \ ˈhärth \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of hearth

1 a : a brick, stone, or concrete area in front of a fireplace

b : the floor of a fireplace; also : fireplace

c : the lowest section of a furnace; especially : the section of a furnace on which the ore or metal is exposed to the flame or heat

2 : home

longed for the comforts of hearth and home

3 : a vital or creative center

the central hearth of occidental civilization
—A. L. Kroeber

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Examples of hearth in a Sentence

They swept the ashes from the hearth.
all were welcome, friends and strangers alike, to their humble hearth

Recent Examples of hearth from the Web

The hearth would have probably formed a social focus, helping the development of language.

— andrew c. scott, Time, "When Did Humans Discover Fire? The Answer Depends on What You Mean By 'Discover'," 1 June 2018
New technologies rendered entire categories obsolete; when stoves replaced the open hearth, the hasteners, spits, spit jacks and spit dogs that attended them vanished.

— New York Times, "All Those Kitchen Gadgets, but a Sharp Knife Just Might Do," 8 May 2018
Watch as colonial reenactors demonstrate daily colonial chores of tending to the kitchen and herb gardens, food preparation, cooking over the hearth, and weaving on our 300-year-old loom.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Glastonbury Edition," 1 May 2018
And to Ireland’s Park Hotel Kenmare, where the flickering hearths cut County Kerry’s damp well into May and stepping into the lobby’s carefully curated confusion of antique furnishings always feels like a long-overdue embrace.

— kevin doyle, WSJ, "24 Famous Globe-Trotters on the Hotels They Love Most," 27 Apr. 2018
The platter is served with roasted carrots and smoked tomato butter — the hearth gets a workout here, smoking and roasting all kinds of ingredients.

— carol deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Food plus fire is perfect mix at Birch + Butcher," 20 Mar. 2018
That goes for the dining room too, with tall, romantic windows, cozy wood accents and an open kitchen that feels like the hearth of the room.

— adam lukach, RedEye Chicago, "12 places to grab food and drinks around our favorite music venues in Chicago," 18 Oct. 2017
Demonstrations include flint knapping, 17th century medicines, open hearth cooking, quillwork, finger weaving, military drills and arms and armor.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Vernon Edition," 15 May 2018
At the heart of the home, beyond the two-story entry, is a voluminous great room with three floor-to-ceiling windows and a massive stone fireplace and hearth.

— neal j. leitereg, latimes.com, "Beverly Hills-area mansion with ‘Real Housewives’ connection lists for $22 million," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hearth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.