stoke

verb

ˈstōk 

stoked; stoking

transitive verb

1

: to poke or stir up (a fire, flames, etc.) : supply with fuel

2

: to feed abundantly

3

: to increase the activity, intensity, or amount of

… limiting the number of cars available … will help stoke demand for the car.

—Keith Naughton

intransitive verb

: to stir up or tend a fire (as in a furnace) : supply a furnace with fuel

Synonyms of stoke

• increase
• accelerate
• expand
• boost
• augment
• raise

Examples of stoke in a Sentence

The engineer stoked the coals.

The new ad campaign has helped to stoke sales.

Poor revenue figures have stoked concerns about possible layoffs.

Recent Examples on the Web

This conduct led to so many changes, and so much fear stoked in women who were simply trying to get home safely. —Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026

Pop culture depictions of school shootings have often stoked controversy, with many viewers debating the line between storytelling and sensitivity. —Saba Hamedy, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026

Then the studio structured trailers and marketing around an unspecified, unspeakable disclosure by Zendaya’s character that derails the wedding plans (and imperils the characters’ romantic union) to stoke maximum curiosity. —Chris Lee, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026

Other companies have stoked controversy by trademarking generic-seeming food terms. —Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Dutch stoken; akin to Middle Dutch stuken to push

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for stoke

• bloke
• boeck
• broke
• choke
• cloak
• cloke
• croak
• folk
• hoke
• joke
• moke
• oak

Kids Definition

stoke

verb

ˈstōk 

stoked; stoking

1

: to stir up or tend (as a fire)

2

: to supply (as a furnace) with fuel

3

: to feed plentifully

stoker noun

Medical Definition

stoke

noun

ˈstōk 

: the cgs unit of kinematic viscosity being that of a fluid which has a viscosity of one poise and a density of one gram per cubic centimeter