Meaning & use
microwave
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A kitchen appliance that heats or cooks food quickly using microwave energy.
Grammar: Countable: one microwave, two microwaves; use oven for the full appliance phrase.
Patterns
- put something in the microwave
- microwave oven
- a microwave beeps
The microwave beeped before I reached the kitchen.
We need a larger microwave for the office lunchroom.
verbtransitive
To heat or cook food in a microwave oven.
Grammar: Takes an object: microwave the beans; do not say microwave to the beans.
Patterns
- microwave something
- microwave something for a time
- microwave leftovers
Microwave the soup for two minutes, then stir it.
He microwaved yesterday's rice and added vegetables.
Word forms
| plural noun | microwaves |
|---|---|
| third person singular | microwaves |
| past tense | microwaved |
| past participle | microwaved |
| -ing form | microwaving |
Common combinations
- microwave oven
- The microwave oven above the stove is small.
- microwave popcorn
- She made microwave popcorn for the movie.
- microwave leftovers
- It is faster to microwave leftovers than to bake them.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- microwavable adjective
- Safe or suitable for microwave heating.
Practice
Which sentence uses the verb correctly?
Choose one answer.
The verb is transitive and directly takes the food as its object; the prepositional options do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “microwave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.