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

• 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

Power is the bottleneck Nearly all modern humanoids run on batteries stowed in the torso or a backpack. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025

Slightly bigger than the Daily, the Voyage Duffle is the perfect weekender bag or carry-on option, with extra room to stow all your travel necessities and more—even fitting on top of a roller bag. —Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 10 Sep. 2025

When pets are allowed on board, pet containers are treated as carry-on baggage and must remain properly stowed beneath the seat for taxiing, takeoff and landing, the FAA notes. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

Rods and lures safely stowed, the paddling anglers head past the swampy banks and cast their lines through the reeds and lily pads. —Wesley Bruer, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 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