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

Inside, the padded sleeve stows everything from hydration systems to laptops. —Outside, 17 Nov. 2025

There’s also bonus storage behind the vanity mirror, and built-ins along the wall with both open shelves and closed cabinets to stow other bathroom necessities. —Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 7 Nov. 2025

The Pen3 comes with a clip for securing inside a jacket pocket when it's not magnetically attached to the side of the Air5 C, and there are replacement tips stowed inside its cap for easy swap out on the go. —New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2025

The jeans still have two front pockets and two back pockets to stow your phone or other small items at the airport and beyond. —Hillary Maglin, Travel + Leisure, 23 Oct. 2025

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