stew 1
— stewable , adj.
/stooh, styooh/ , v.t.
1. to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling.
v.i.
2. to undergo cooking by simmering or slow boiling.
3. Informal. to fret, worry, or fuss: He stewed about his chaotic state of affairs all day.
4. to feel uncomfortable due to a hot, humid, stuffy atmosphere, as in a closed room; swelter.
5. stew in one's own juice , to suffer the consequences of one's own actions.
n.
6. a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing, esp. a mixture of meat and vegetables.
7. Informal. a state of agitation, uneasiness, or worry.
8. a brothel; whorehouse.
9. stews , a neighborhood occupied chiefly by brothels.
10. Obs. a vessel for boiling or stewing.
[ 1350-1400; ME stewen, stuwen to take a sweat bath estuver, v. deriv. of estuve sweat room of a bath; see STOVE 1 ]
Syn. 1. See boil 1 . 6. ragout.
stew 2
/stooh, styooh/ , n. Slang.
1. steward;
2. stewardess.
[ by shortening ]