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View synonyms for

stew

1

[stoo, styoo]

verb (used with object)

  1. to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling.



verb (used without object)

  1. to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling.

  2. Informal.to fret, worry, or fuss.

    He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day.

  3. to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter.

noun

  1. a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, especially a mixture of meat and vegetables.

    Synonyms: ,
  2. Informal.a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry.

  3. a brothel; whorehouse.

  4. stews, a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels.

  5. Obsolete.a vessel for boiling or stewing.

stew

2

[stoo, styoo]

noun

Slang.
  1. a male or female flight attendant.

stew

1

/ ː /

noun

    1. a dish of meat, fish, or other food, cooked by stewing

    2. ( as modifier )

      stew pot

  1. informala difficult or worrying situation or a troubled state (esp in the phrase in a stew )

  2. a heterogeneous mixture

    a stew of people of every race

  3. archaic(usually plural) a brothel

  4. obsoletea public room for hot steam baths

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to cook or cause to cook by long slow simmering

  2. informal(intr) to be troubled or agitated

  3. informal(intr) to be oppressed with heat or crowding

  4. to cause (tea) to become bitter or (of tea) to become bitter through infusing for too long

  5. to suffer unaided the consequences of one's actions

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

stew

2

/ ː /

noun

  1. a fishpond or fishtank

  2. an artificial oyster bed

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • stewable adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of stew1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English steuen, stuwe “to take a sweat bath,” from Middle French estuver, verbal derivative of estuve “sweat room of a bath”; stove 1

Origin of stew2

An Americanism dating back to 1970–1975; shortening of steward ( def. ) or stewardess ( def. )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of stew1

C14 stuen to take a very hot bath, from Old French estuver, from Vulgar Latin ū (unattested), from ex- 1 + (unattested) ūڳܲ vapour, from Greek tuphos

Origin of stew2

C14: from Old French estui, from estoier to shut up, confine, ultimately from Latin studium study
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. stew in one's own juice, to suffer the consequences of one's own actions.

In addition to the idiom beginning with stew, also see in a stew.
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Synonym Study

See boil 1.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Having spent more than 18 months stewing over potential options including demolition, the conversation has now shifted towards repairing the flats.

From

The mother-of-two also spoke about putting powdered dried mushrooms into a range of foods like spaghetti, brownies and stew, which prosecutors allege was practice for the fatal lunch.

From

It has the structural integrity to hold up to braises, hard-sears and even stews.

From

No sooner were we off the tarmac and at cruising altitude than the delicious baked cod and chickpea stew lunch was served.

From

Cultural staples like hummus, muhammara, guacamole and Ethiopian legume stews all fall under the purée umbrella.

From

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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