stew
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling.
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Informal. to fret, worry, or fuss.
He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day.
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to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter.
noun
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a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, especially a mixture of meat and vegetables.
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Informal. a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry.
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a brothel; whorehouse.
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stews, a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels.
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Obsolete. a vessel for boiling or stewing.
idioms
noun
noun
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a dish of meat, fish, or other food, cooked by stewing
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( as modifier )
stew pot
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informal a difficult or worrying situation or a troubled state (esp in the phrase in a stew )
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a heterogeneous mixture
a stew of people of every race
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archaic (usually plural) a brothel
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obsolete a public room for hot steam baths
verb
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to cook or cause to cook by long slow simmering
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informal (intr) to be troubled or agitated
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informal (intr) to be oppressed with heat or crowding
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to cause (tea) to become bitter or (of tea) to become bitter through infusing for too long
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to suffer unaided the consequences of one's actions
noun
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a fishpond or fishtank
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an artificial oyster bed
Related Words
See boil 1.
Other Word Forms
- stewable adjective
Etymology
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. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They arrived to cheers from crowds waving Welsh flags and holding bunches of daffodils, before sipping hot drinks and chatting to people making signs, baking cakes and making traditional stew in preparation for the festivities.
From BBC
I promised him everything from fried rabbit to a red squirrel stew, but it did no good.
From Literature
“So,” said the witch, blocking the path to the stew, “the trouble has begun.”
From Literature
Newsom climbed from San Francisco mayor to lieutenant governor to California’s governorship, where he quietly stewed as Harris leapfrogged past him into the vice presidency.
From Los Angeles Times
Soups, stews, cheesy casseroles and creamy mashed potatoes are just a few popular options that come to mind.
From Salon
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.
