camp stove

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A small portable cooker that campers use to heat food outdoors, usually burning gas or liquid fuel.

   Grammar: Countable: use a/an and a plural -s — a camp stove, two camp stoves.

   Patterns

   • light a camp stove
   • cook something on a camp stove
   • a camp stove with a fuel canister

   We boiled water on the camp stove before the sun came up.

   This camp stove folds flat and fits in the bottom of my backpack.

   Don't use a camp stove inside a tent because of the fumes.

2. 2nouncountable

   A stove designed to be carried and used outdoors, as opposed to one fixed in a kitchen.

   Grammar: Often contrasted with a kitchen stove or range, which stays in one place.

   Patterns

   • a portable camp stove
   • a camp stove for backpacking

   For a long trek, a lightweight camp stove matters more than a big one.

   She bought a camp stove that runs on the same fuel as her lantern.

Word forms

Common combinations

a portable camp stove

A portable camp stove is essential if you plan to cook at the campsite.

light a camp stove

It took him three tries to light the camp stove in the wind.

a camp stove burner

The camp stove burner was clogged with soot.

cook on a camp stove

We cooked rice and beans on a camp stove every night.

a gas camp stove

A gas camp stove is easier to control than a wood fire.

Synonyms and how they differ

camping stove

The same object; camping stove is the slightly more common form in British English.

portable stove

Broader — it can also mean a small stove used indoors, such as on a boat.

burner

Informal and looser; a burner is really just the part that makes the flame.

Word family

camp noun

noun — a place where people stay in tents or cabins outdoors.

camper noun

noun — a person who camps, or a vehicle you sleep in.

camping noun

noun — the activity of sleeping outdoors in a tent.

Commonly confused: camp stove or campstove?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “camp stove”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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