stew

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈstü 

ˈstyü

1

obsolete : a utensil used for boiling

2

: a hot bath

3

a

: brothel

b

: a district of brothels

—usually used in plural

4

a

: fish or meat usually with vegetables prepared by stewing

b(1)

: a heterogeneous mixture

(2)

: a state of heat and congestion

5

: a state of excitement, worry, or confusion

stew

2 of 3

verb

stewed; stewing; stews

transitive verb

: to boil slowly or with simmering heat

intransitive verb

1

: to become cooked by stewing

2

: to swelter especially from confinement in a hot or stuffy atmosphere

3

: to be in a state of suppressed agitation, worry, or resentment

stew

3 of 3

noun (2)

: flight attendant

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• dither
• fluster
• fret
• fuss
• huff
• lather
• pother
• sweat
• swelter
• swivet
• tizzy
• twitter

Verb

• boil
• coddle
• parboil
• poach
• simmer

Examples of stew in a Sentence

Noun (1)

many in town are in a stew about the proposed plan to close at least one of the elementary schools

the audience went into a stew when the evacuation order was announced

the documentary looks at the stew of conspiracy theories inspired by the assassination

a red-light district full of down and dirty stews

Verb

The meat still needs to stew.

a can of stewed tomatoes

She's been stewing over what he said for days.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Get The Recipe 16 of 34 Hearty Beef And Freezer Veggie Soup This stew checks the veggie and protein box. —Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2024

Sugar Mouse is now a frilly pink tea house for afternoon tea, with scones, crumpets, soup of the day, English stew and, of course, cupcakes. —Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024

Verb

This happened Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres, when Roberts controversially took off the bunt sign for Miguel Rojas after one strike and the shortstop promptly hit into a game-ending triple play, leaving the great Ohtani stewing on deck and the Dodgers’ title hopes briefly on the brink. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024

Maybe that leaves some space for claims of election fraud and just doubt to be stewed about what happens in the election. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English stewe heated room for a steam bath, from Anglo-French estuve, from Vulgar Latin *extufa — more at stove

Noun (2)

short for stewardess

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1970, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stew

• Brunswick stew
• in a stew
• Irish stew
• mulligan stew
• stew in one's own juice/juices

Kids Definition

stew

1 of 2 noun

ˈst(y)ü 

1

: food (as meat with vegetables) prepared by slow boiling

2

: a state of excitement, worry, or confusion

in a stew over nothing

stew

2 of 2 verb

1

: to boil slowly : simmer

2

: to become excited or worried : fret