oven
UH-vn
Oven (noun) means an enclosed chamber used for baking, roasting, or heating food. Example: “I left the lasagne in the oven until the cheese turned golden.”
noun
1
An enclosed chamber used for baking, roasting, or heating food.
"I left the lasagne in the oven until the cheese turned golden."
"Preheat the oven to 200 degrees before baking the bread."
"She pulled the tray of cookies out of the oven."
2
Informally, a place that feels extremely hot.
"The car was like an oven after standing in the sun all day."
"Don't go into the attic today, because it's an oven up there."
"The greenhouse turns into an oven in the afternoon sun."
How to use oven
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn appliance or chamber for cooking with dry heat.
Common pairings
preheat the oven
oven-baked
put it in the oven
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Word forms
- Plural
- ovens
- Third person singular
- ovens
- Past tense
- ovened
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I left the lasagne in the _____ until the cheese turned golden.
Etymology
From Old English ofn, going back to a Proto-Germanic word for "oven," itself likely from an ancient root meaning "cooking pot."
Related words
Rhymes for oven
See all rhymes for oven →Frequently asked questions
What does “oven” mean?
The word “oven” means an enclosed chamber used for baking, roasting, or heating food. In plain terms, an appliance or chamber for cooking with dry heat.
How do you pronounce “oven”?
“Oven” is pronounced UH-vn (/ˈʌ.vn̩/ in IPA).
How do you use “oven” in a sentence?
Here is “oven” used in a sentence: “Preheat the oven to 200 degrees before baking the bread.”
What part of speech is “oven”?
“Oven” is a noun.
Where does the word “oven” come from?
The word “oven” comes from Old English. From Old English ofn, going back to a Proto-Germanic word for "oven," itself likely from an ancient root meaning "cooking pot.".
Is “oven” a common word?
“Oven” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “oven” have?
“Oven” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an enclosed chamber used for baking, roasting, or heating food.
What is the difference between an oven and a stove?
An oven is an enclosed chamber used for baking, roasting, or heating food, while a stove (or cooktop) is the set of burners you cook on from above. In many kitchens the two are combined in one appliance, which is why the words are often mixed up.
What is the difference between an oven and a microwave?
A conventional oven surrounds food with hot air, which is what allows baking, roasting, and browning. A microwave heats food much faster using microwaves, but it does not brown or crisp food the way an oven does.
Why do people say a room is "like an oven"?
Informally, oven describes any place that feels extremely hot. Saying a car or room is "like an oven" compares its trapped heat to the enclosed, heated chamber used for cooking.
What is the difference between an oven and a kiln?
Both are enclosed heating chambers, but an oven is used for cooking food, while a kiln reaches much higher temperatures to fire pottery, bricks, or ceramics and to dry materials such as timber. You bake bread in an oven; you fire clay in a kiln.
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