stew

plural stews

1. obsoleteuncountableusuallyA cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.First known use 14th–17th c.
2. historicaluncountableusuallyA heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath.First known use 14th c.

   1 more example

   And when he came to the chamber there as this lady was the dores of yron vnlocked and vnbolted / And so syr launcelot wente in to the chambre that was as hote as ony stewe / And there syr launcelot toke the fayrest lady by the hand / that euer he sawe / and she was naked as a nedel And when he came to the chamber thereas this lady was, the doors of iron unlocked and unbolted. And so Sir Launcelot went into the chamber that was as hot as any stew. And there Sir Launcelot took the fairest lady by the hand that ever he saw, and she was naked as a needle

   1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI

3. archaicuncountableusuallyA brothel.First known use 14th c.

   And rak'd, for converts, even the court and stews.

   1681, John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel

   3 more examples

   [...] and the agrieved person shall doe more manly, to be extraordinary and singular in claiming the due right whereof he is frustrated, then to piece up his lost contentment by visiting the Stews, or stepping to his neighbours bed, which is the common shift in this mis-fortune, or els by suffering his usefull life to wast away and be lost under a secret affliction of an unconscionable size to humane strength.

   1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce

   Because he was chaste, the precinct of his temple is filled with licensed stews.

   1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Sir James Mackintosh

   Although whores were permitted to sit at the door of the stew, they could not solicit in any way nor ‘chide or throw stones’ at passers-by.

   1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 37

4. obsoleteuncountableusuallyA prostitute.

   But it was so plotted betwixt the Lady, her Husband, and Bristol, that instead of that beauty, he had a notorious Stew sent him, and surely his carriage there was so lascivious...

   1650, Anthony Weldon, The Court and Character of King James I

5. countableuncountableusuallyA dish cooked by stewing.First known use 18th c.

   I noticed then that there was nothing to drink on the table but brandy, and nothing to eat but salted herrings, and a hot, sickly, highly peppered stew.

   1870, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Wordsworth Classics, published 1998, page 367

6. uncountableusuallySussexA pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating.

   It was used as a stew, so that the inhabitants of the castle could have fish on Fridays, and for this reason the architects had been careful not to let the drains and sewers run into it. It was stocked with fish every year.

   1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter V, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, book I (The Sword in the Stone)

   Synonyms: stewpond

7. USregionaluncountableusuallyAn artificial bed of oysters.
8. slanguncountableusuallyA state of agitated excitement, worry, or confusion.

   to be in a stew

9. slanguncountableusuallybroadcastingUnwanted background noise recorded by the microphone.

   mike stew

present singular third person stews · participle present stewing · participle past stewed · past stewed

1. ergativeintransitivetransitiveTo cook (food) by slowly boiling or simmering.

   The meat is stewing nicely.

   2 more examples

   I'm going to stew some meat for the casserole.

   Then she took the heart and liver of the little girl, and she stewed them and brought them into the house for supper.

   1890, Joseph Jacobs, “The Rose-Tree”, in English Fairy Tales, page 17

2. transitiveTo brew (tea) for too long, so that the flavour becomes too strong.
3. figurativelyintransitiveTo suffer under uncomfortably hot conditions.

   It was an honest letter, written by an honest man, then stewing in the Plains on two hundred rupees a month (for he allowed his wife eight hundred and fifty), and in a silk banian and cotton trousers.

   1889, Rudyard Kipling, “At the Pit's Mouth”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 50

   Synonyms: bake, boil, sweat, swelter

4. figurativelyintransitiveTo be in a state of elevated anxiety or anger.

   Synonyms: brood, fret, sweat, worry

1. EnglandScotlandA cloud of fine particles or droplets; dust, smoke, vapor, mist, or sea-spray.

   'Johnston,' Ron shouted, 'couldn't knock the stew off a bap.'

   2000, Alasdair K. D. Campbell, The Nessman, page 217

   1 more example

   The Verna swerved close, her stern kicking up a stew as she started to back up.

   1994, Leftare P. Delis, The Inside Passage, page 166

plural stews

1. informalA steward or stewardess on an airplane or boat.

   And then, working as a stew for American Airlines, Mo met another older man[…].

   1975 November 3, Mordecai Richler, “The Perils of Maureen”, in New York, volume 8, number 44, page 8

   3 more examples

   It is our considered and combined judgement that Germans and actors share honors for being the cheapest dates a stew can accept.

   1967, Trudy Baker, Rachel Jones, Donald Bain (uncredited), Coffee, Tea, or Me?: The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses, New York: Bantam Books, page 243

   "[…]We want to know what he's going to be saying on his airplane." "I don't have the legs to dress up as a stew, doc. Besides, I never learned to do the tea ceremony, either."

   1991, Tom Clancy, The Sum of All Fears, published 1992, →ISBN, page 480

   Dallas was also becoming known as a "stew zoo" because so many flight attendants were relocating there to work for Southwest, Braniff, and American Airlines.

   1992 January, Skip Hollandsworth, “Doing the Hustle”, in Texas Monthly, volume 20, number 1, →ISSN, page 52

1. A diminutive of the male given name Stewart.