stow

verb

ˈstō 

stowed; stowing; stows

transitive verb

1

: house, lodge

2

a

: to put away for future use : store

b

obsolete : to lock up for safekeeping : confine

3

a

: to dispose in an orderly fashion : arrange, pack

b

: load

4

slang : to put aside : stop

5

a

archaic : crowd

b

: to eat or drink up

—usually used with away

stowed away a huge dinner

Synonyms of stow

• store
• keep

Examples of stow in a Sentence

He stowed his gear in a locker.

Luggage may be stowed under the seat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Large walk-in closets are perfect for stowing ski gear. —Liz Humphreys, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Feb. 2026

Lack of human presence on board these systems allow for smaller designs, making drones and unmanned aircraft conducive to being stowed and launched from the decks of diverse classes of ships. —Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

To stop rust from forming, keep your pans well-seasoned, don't leave them soaking in the sink, and dry them on a burner before stowing them away. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026

The astronauts are stowing some final items inside their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, to place, from stowe place, from Old English stōw; akin to Old Frisian stō place, Greek stylos pillar — more at steer

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stow

• stow away

Rhymes for stow

• beau
• beaux
• blow
• boe
• bro
• coe
• crow
• doe
• doh
• dough
• eau
• eaux

Kids Definition

stow

verb

ˈstō 

1

: to put away : store

stowed their belongings in the closet

2

a

: arrange sense 1, pack

quickly stowed the cargo

b

: load entry 2 sense 1a

stowed the ships to capacity

3

: to eat or drink up

stow away a meal

Geographical Definition

Stow

geographical name

ˈstō 

city in northeastern Ohio northeast of Akron population 34,837

Biographical Definition

Stow

biographical name

ˈstō 

John 1525–1605 English historian and antiquarian