microwave

UK/ˈmaɪkɹəʊˌweɪv/US/ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/

nounB22 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,221 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: microwaves

A microwave is the small machine that heats food very quickly. A minute and a half, and a beep.

It works by shaking water molecules in the food, which is why it heats unevenly and why dry things stay cold. Metal must not go in. The word is short for microwave oven, and it works as a verb too, so you microwave leftovers. The technology was discovered by accident when a radar engineer found a chocolate bar melting in his pocket. Physics uses microwave for the radiation itself.

Definitions of microwave

1nounmicrowaveAn oven that heats food using electromagnetic radiation.B2
“Put it in the microwave for two minutes.”
- Said"Stick it in the microwave for a bit; I can't be bothered with the hob."
- WrittenMicrowaves hummed in every office kitchen at one o'clock, and the smell of fish followed.
- UsedCover the bowl in the microwave so the sauce does not paint the ceiling.
- ContrastA microwave, not an oven. An oven browns and crisps over an hour; a microwave heats from inside in moments. oven →
- Not thisA toaster is not a microwave, though both are boxes. A microwave heats with waves, not wire.
- SimplyPut the soup in the microwave. Wait a little.
Patternput sth in the microwave · heat / cook sth in the microwave · a microwave meal · microwave-safe · microwaveable
2verbheatTo heat food in such an oven.B1
“She microwaved the soup and ate it standing up.”

Remember it

Micro means very small, and a wave is a wave: it heats your soup with short waves you cannot see.

hooks ontowave

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*webʰ- — to move to and from, wander
Proto-Germanic
*wabōną
Proto-West Germanic
*wabōn
Old English
wafian — to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder
Middle English
waven
English
wave
English, today
microwave

Built from

*wabjaną · Proto-Germanic — to wander, sway

From micro- + wave. wave comes from Middle English waven, from Old English wafian (“to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder”), from Proto-West Germanic wabōn, from Proto-Germanic wabōną, wabjaną (“to wander, sway”), from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- (“to move to and from, wander”). Cognate with Middle High German waben (“to wave”), German wabern (“to waft”), Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”). See also waver.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of microwave

1nounmicrowaveAn oven that heats food using electromagnetic radiation.B2

“Put it in the microwave for two minutes.”

Said"Stick it in the microwave for a bit; I can't be bothered with the hob."
WrittenMicrowaves hummed in every office kitchen at one o'clock, and the smell of fish followed.
UsedCover the bowl in the microwave so the sauce does not paint the ceiling.
ContrastA microwave, not an oven. An oven browns and crisps over an hour; a microwave heats from inside in moments. oven →
Not thisA toaster is not a microwave, though both are boxes. A microwave heats with waves, not wire.
SimplyPut the soup in the microwave. Wait a little.

Patternput sth in the microwave · heat / cook sth in the microwave · a microwave meal · microwave-safe · microwaveable

2verbheatTo heat food in such an oven.B1

“She microwaved the soup and ate it standing up.”