stew

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈstü 

ˈstyü

1

a

: a dish of vegetables and usually meat prepared by stewing

b(1)

: a heterogeneous mixture

(2)

: a state of heat and congestion

2

: a state of excitement, worry, or confusion

3

: a hot bath

4

a

: brothel

b

: a district of brothels

—usually used in plural

5

obsolete : a utensil used for boiling

stew

2 of 3

verb

stewed; stewing; stews

transitive verb

: to boil slowly or with simmering heat

intransitive verb

1

: to become cooked by slowly boiling or simmering in liquid

2

: to swelter especially from confinement in a hot or stuffy atmosphere

3

: to be in a state of suppressed agitation, worry, or resentment

stew

3 of 3

noun (2)

: flight attendant

Synonyms of stew

Noun (1)

• huff
• sweat
• panic
• fuss
• fret

Verb

• boil
• simmer

Examples of stew in a Sentence

Noun (1)

many in town are in a stew about the proposed plan to close at least one of the elementary schools

the audience went into a stew when the evacuation order was announced

the documentary looks at the stew of conspiracy theories inspired by the assassination

a red-light district full of down and dirty stews

Verb

The meat still needs to stew.

a can of stewed tomatoes

She's been stewing over what he said for days.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Game 6 strips away everything the Lakers had in Game 5 — home court, two days of rest (and stew over a blowout loss) and control of the series. —Law Murray, New York Times, 1 May 2026

Next up is the chief stew, a stunningly attractive redheaded woman with a face frozen somewhere between fury and disdain. —Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026

Verb

Better to speak your mind and get his side, than to stew alone about it. —R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026

The same applies to leeks poached in white wine or green beans stewed with bacon. —Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English stewe heated room for a steam bath, from Anglo-French estuve, from Vulgar Latin *extufa — more at stove

Noun (2)

short for stewardess

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1970, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stew

• Brunswick stew
• in a stew
• Irish stew
• mulligan stew
• stew in one's own juice/juices

Rhymes for stew

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

stew

1 of 2 noun

ˈst(y)ü 

1

: food (as meat with vegetables) prepared by slow boiling

2

: a state of excitement, worry, or confusion

in a stew over nothing

stew

2 of 2 verb

1

: to boil slowly : simmer

2

: to become excited or worried : fret