stow
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stow¹
- /stəʊ/ UK
- /stoʊ/ US
- /stəʉ/ Australia
- /stɐʉ/ New Zealand
- /sto/ Scotland
- /stou/ Wales
Sounds like store (Dough-door merger) · Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English stowe, from Old English stōw (“place, location”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōu, from Proto-Germanic *stōō (“a place, stowage”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place, put”). Cognate with Old Frisian stō (“place”), Icelandic stó (“fireplace”), Dutch stouw (“place”), German Stau (“congestion”). See also -stow.
noun stows
- A place, stead.
stow²
- /stəʊ/ UK
- /stoʊ/ US
- /stəʉ/ Australia
- /stɐʉ/ New Zealand
- /sto/ Scotland
- /stou/ Wales
Sounds like store (Dough-door merger) · Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English stowen, stawen, stewen, from Old English stōwian (“to hold back, restrain”), from Proto-Germanic *stōōną, *stōjaną (“to stow, dam up”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place”). Cognate with Dutch stuwen, stouwen (“to stow”), Low German stauen (“to blin, halt, hinder”), German stauen (“to halt, hem in, stow, pack”).
verb stows · stowing · stowed
- To put something away in a compact and tidy manner, in its proper place, or in a suitable place.
- To store or pack something in a space-saving manner and over a long time. Yet everybody knows that a cargo properly stowed in a seaworthy craft reaches market in much the better condition than by rail, though perhaps it is some hours longer on the way.
- To arrange, pack, or fill something tightly or closely.
- To dispose of, lodge, or hide somebody somewhere. Ar.[…]The Marriners all vnder hatches ſtowed, / Who, with a Charme ioynd to their ſuffred labour / I haue left aſleep :[…]
- To cease; to stop doing something. But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, 'Come, stow that patter, / If you're a cove wot likes a gal, / Vy don't you stand some gatter?' / In course I instantly complied— / Two brimming quarts of porter, / With sev'ral goes of gin beside, / Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter.
interjection
- A cry used by falconers to call their birds back down to hand. His seconde hawke wexyd gery […] on the rode loft She perkyd her to rest. The fauconer then was prest, Came runnynge with a dow, And cryed, ‘Stow, stow, stow!’ But she wold not bow.
Stow³
- /ˈstaʊ/ Scotland
proper noun
- A surname.
- A village in the Scottish Borders council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT4544).
- A village and civil parish in West Lindsey district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref SK8881).
- The alternative spelling of Stowe in Shropshire, England.
- A small town in Oxford County, Maine, United States.
- A town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.
- A city in Summit County, Ohio, United States.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: store, load, garner, stowage, stash, lade, hide, save, put, saving, homey, pack, tie, holster, range, keep
Translations
Every language
verb to put something away in a compact and tidy manner
| Español | estibar, arrumar, abarrotar |
|---|---|
| Français | ranger |
| Deutsch | verstauen |
| Italiano | compattare, raggruppare, assemblare, traversare, ammainare, montare |
| Русский | укла́дывать ukládyvatʹ, скла́дывать skládyvatʹ |
Talk about this word "stow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/stow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. stow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/stow "stow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/stow.Cite this
@misc{stow_2026,
title = {stow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/stow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
