stew

¹

[ stoo, styoo ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling.

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling.
2. Informal. to fret, worry, or fuss:

   He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day.

3. to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter.

noun

1. a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, especially a mixture of meat and vegetables.

   Synonyms: ragout, casserole

2. Informal. a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry.
3. a brothel; whorehouse.
4. stews, a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels.
5. Obsolete. a vessel for boiling or stewing.

stew

²

[ stoo, styoo ]

noun

, Slang.

1. a male or female flight attendant.

stew

¹

/ stjuː /

noun

1. 1. a dish of meat, fish, or other food, cooked by stewing
   2. ( as modifier )

      stew pot

2. informal.
   a difficult or worrying situation or a troubled state (esp in the phrase in a stew )
3. a heterogeneous mixture

   a stew of people of every race

4. archaic.
   usually plural a brothel
5. obsolete.
   a public room for hot steam baths

verb

1. to cook or cause to cook by long slow simmering
2. informal.
   intr to be troubled or agitated
3. informal.
   intr to be oppressed with heat or crowding
4. to cause (tea) to become bitter or (of tea) to become bitter through infusing for too long
5. stew in one's own juice
   to suffer unaided the consequences of one's actions

stew

²

/ stjuː /

noun

1. a fishpond or fishtank
2. an artificial oyster bed

Other Words From

• stewa·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of stew¹

C14 stuen to take a very hot bath, from Old French estuver, from Vulgar Latin extūfāre (unattested), from ex- ¹+ (unattested) tūfus vapour, from Greek tuphos

Origin of stew²

C14: from Old French estui, from estoier to shut up, confine, ultimately from Latin studium study

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. stew in one's own juice, to suffer the consequences of one's own actions.

More idioms and phrases containing stew

In addition to the idiom beginning with stew , also see in a stew .

Synonym Study

See boil ¹.

Example Sentences

Such was the scarcity that one of the beloved staples was a stew made from leftover military rations discarded by U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

“This garden has turned out way better than I ever imagined, and we get so much more food than I ever imagined; I love giving food away to family and friends, but I also do a lot of freezing. With tomatoes, did you know you can just freeze them whole and then when you’re ready to use them in a soup or stew, you can just run them under water and the skins fall right off?”

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than stew on the Game 2 loss individually, the Dodgers’ ride last week transformed into “a party bus for two hours,” Hernández recalled with a laugh.

From Los Angeles Times

So Barba and Lerew stepped to the vat and uncovered it, revealing a glutinous stew of rags and vaseline, once integral to the tattoo process; the stew’s age and precise contents are uncertain.

From Los Angeles Times

Roman, who is well known for a wide variety of viral recipes like “The Stew” and “The Cookies,” is one of the foremost voices in modern cooking discourse, and is personally one of my absolute favorites within the entire, wide-ranging landscape.

From Salon

Related Words

• boil
• fret
• fume
• seethe
• simmer