stoke

verb

ˈstōk 

stoked; stoking

transitive verb

1

: to poke or stir up (a fire, flames, etc.) : supply with fuel

2

: to feed abundantly

3

: to increase the activity, intensity, or amount of

… limiting the number of cars available … will help stoke demand for the car.

—Keith Naughton

intransitive verb

: to stir up or tend a fire (as in a furnace) : supply a furnace with fuel

Synonyms of stoke

• increase
• accelerate
• expand
• boost
• augment
• raise

Examples of stoke in a Sentence

The engineer stoked the coals.

The new ad campaign has helped to stoke sales.

Poor revenue figures have stoked concerns about possible layoffs.

Recent Examples on the Web

The governments involved have stoked the fighting with Romanian mercenaries, Russian fighter jets, and Chinese drones. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Economic worries The stimulus package from Takaichi’s government comes as Japan has seen inflation consistently run above the central bank’s target, with statements from senior officials on price growth stoking fresh worries. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2025

But making durian Malaysia’s national fruit also appears to have stoked divisions across the region. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

Chase Stokes is stoking fan's curiosity with his latest posts. —Anika Reed, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Dutch stoken; akin to Middle Dutch stuken to push

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for stoke

• bloke
• boeck
• broke
• choke
• cloak
• cloke
• croak
• folk
• hoke
• joke
• moke
• oak

Kids Definition

stoke

verb

ˈstōk 

stoked; stoking

1

: to stir up or tend (as a fire)

2

: to supply (as a furnace) with fuel

3

: to feed plentifully

stoker noun

Medical Definition

stoke

noun

ˈstōk 

: the cgs unit of kinematic viscosity being that of a fluid which has a viscosity of one poise and a density of one gram per cubic centimeter