TOP

Definition of furnace noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

furnace

noun
 
/ˈfɜːnɪs/
 
/ˈfɜːrnɪs/
jump to other results
  1. a space surrounded on all sides by walls and a roof for heating metal or glass to very high temperatures
    • It's like a furnace (= very hot) in here!
    see also blast furnace
    Extra Examples
    • The furnaces burned fiercely.
    • There was enough coal to fire the furnaces.
    • Emissions from power stations and industrial furnaces pollute the atmosphere.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • blazing
    • fiery
    • hot
    • …
    verb + furnace
    • stoke
    • fire
    furnace + verb
    • burn
    See full entry
  2. (especially North American English)
    (also boiler British and North American English)
    a container in which water is heated to provide hot water and heating in a building or to produce steam in an engine
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • coal
    • electric
    • gas
    • …
    verb + furnace
    • install
    • replace
    furnace + noun
    • room
    See full entry
    3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French fornais(e), from Latin fornax, fornac-, from fornus ‘oven’.
See furnace in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: furnace

Other results

All matches

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day