furnace

noun

fur·​nace ˈfər-nəs 

: an enclosed structure in which heat is produced (as for heating a house or for reducing ore)

Examples of furnace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most attributed the improvement in smell to the passage of time, cleaning surfaces and air ducts, replacing furnace filters, and removing carpet, textiles and furniture from the home. —Colleen E. Reid, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025

At the same time, the GOP proposal would give the General Assembly the power to impose sales taxes on an array of previously untaxed services – everything from massages to furnace maintenance. —Jonathan Shorman and, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025

In my home state of South Carolina, for example, Nucor Steel has adopted electric arc furnace technology at its plant, enabling the production of high-quality steel with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional blast furnace methods. —Bob Inglis, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

Steelworkers react after Biden rejects U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal 03:32 U.S. Steel leaders have warned that the company could be forced to curtail its legacy blast furnace investments and shift to cheaper nonunion electric arc furnaces. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fourneyse, fornes, furneis "oven, kiln, furnace," borrowed from Anglo-French furneis, fornays, fornaise (continental Old French forneis —attested once as masculine noun— fornaise, feminine noun), going back to Latin fornāc-, fornāx (also furnāx) "furnace, oven, kiln (for heating baths, smelting metal, firing clay)," from forn-, furn-, base of furnus, fornus "oven for baking" + -āc-, -āx, noun suffix; forn- going back to Indo-European *g^whr̥-no- (whence also Old Irish gorn "piece of burning wood," Old Russian grŭnŭ, gŭrnŭ "cauldron," Russian gorn "furnace, forge," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian gŕno "coals for heating iron at a smithy," Sanskrit ghṛṇáḥ "heat, ardor"), suffixed derivative of a verbal base *g^wher- "become warm" — more at therm

Note: The variation between -or-, the expected outcome of zero grade, and -ur- in Latin has been explained as reflecting a rural/dialectal change of o to u, borrowing from Umbrian, or the result of a sound change of uncertain conditioning; see most recently Nicholas Zair, "The origins of -urC- for expected -orC- in Latin," Glotta, Band 93 (2017), pp. 255-89.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing furnace

• blast furnace
• reverberatory furnace

Kids Definition

furnace

noun

fur·​nace ˈfər-nəs 

: an enclosed structure in which heat is produced (as for heating a house or melting metals)