stove

1 of 2

noun

ˈstōv 

1

a

: a portable or fixed apparatus that burns fuel or uses electricity to provide heat (as for cooking or heating)

b

: a device that generates heat for special purposes (as for heating tools or heating air for a hot blast)

c

: kiln

2

chiefly British : a hothouse especially for the cultivation of tropical exotics

broadly : greenhouse

stove

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of stave

Examples of stove in a Sentence

Noun

She put the pan on the stove over medium heat.

I cooked the burgers on the stove.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

New York City has already banned gas stoves and furnaces in new buildings, and Albany is moving to copy California’s approach by requiring zero-emission vehicles for future car, pickup, and SUV sales. —Nicole Malliotakis, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026

Together with garlic and orange juice, the tomatoes are simmered over the stove before getting thrown into the blender with fresh lime juice, chopped fresh oregano, salt, and serrano chile. —Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026

Grilled Steak With Chunky Guacamole Salad This well-marbled, flavorful flat iron steak is marinated in olive oil and taco seasoning, then seared on the stove and served with an easy pico de gallo with chunks of avocado. —Deputy Food Editor, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026

Elsewhere in the kitchen, two roaches scaled the wall over the three-compartment sink; two moseyed across a cookline table near the microwave oven; one climbed the wall behind the stove; and one went solo under a cookline table. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English (Scots), heated room, steam bath, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, from Vulgar Latin *extufa, ultimately from Latin ex- + Greek typhein to smoke — more at deaf entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing stove

• Franklin stove
• pellet stove
• potbellied stove
• slave over a hot stove
• stove-top

Rhymes for stove

• clove
• cove
• drove
• rove
• shrove
• strove
• throve
• trove
• wove
• alcove
• mangrove

Kids Definition

stove

1 of 2 noun

ˈstōv 

1

: an appliance that burns fuel or uses electricity to provide heat (as for cooking or heating)

2

: kiln

stove

2 of 2

past and past participle of stave entry 2