Library / English Dictionary

MICROWAVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Kitchen appliance that cooks food by passing an electromagnetic wave through it; heat results from the absorption of energy by the water molecules in the food

Synonyms:

microwave; microwave oven

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("microwave" is a kind of...):

kitchen appliance (a home appliance used in preparing food)

Derivation:

microwave (cook or heat in a microwave oven)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A short electromagnetic wave (longer than infrared but shorter than radio waves); used for radar and microwave ovens and for transmitting telephone, facsimile, video and data

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("microwave" is a kind of...):

electromagnetic radiation; electromagnetic wave; nonparticulate radiation (radiation consisting of waves of energy associated with electric and magnetic fields resulting from the acceleration of an electric charge)

Holonyms ("microwave" is a part of...):

electromagnetic spectrum (the entire frequency range of electromagnetic waves)

Derivation:

microwave (cook or heat in a microwave oven)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cook or heat in a microwave oven

Example:

You can microwave the leftovers

Synonyms:

micro-cook; microwave; nuke; zap

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "microwave" is one way to...):

cook (transform and make suitable for consumption by heating)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs microwave the vegetables

Derivation:

microwave (kitchen appliance that cooks food by passing an electromagnetic wave through it; heat results from the absorption of energy by the water molecules in the food)

microwave (a short electromagnetic wave (longer than infrared but shorter than radio waves); used for radar and microwave ovens and for transmitting telephone, facsimile, video and data)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Phenomena across the Universe emit radiation spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum — from high-energy gamma rays, which stream out from the most energetic events in the cosmos, to lower-energy microwaves and radio waves.

(Hubble's Megamaser Galaxy, ESA/NASA)

ESA's Planck satellite, a mission with significant participation from NASA, has revealed that the first stars in the universe started forming later than previous observations of the cosmic microwave background indicated.

(First Stars Formed Later Than We Thought, NASA)

Separate measurements from the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite, which maps the cosmic microwave background, predicted that the Hubble constant value should now be 67 kilometers per second per megaparsec.

(Measuring Growth of Universe Reveals a Mystery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Because telescopes cannot see them, though, astronomers have been hunting for indirect evidence, such as a tell-tale change in the background electromagnetic radiation that permeates the universe, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

(Astronomers detect ancient signal from first stars in universe, National Science Foundation)

It is used in high-technology ceramics, electronic heat sinks, electrical insulators, high-power devices, high-density electrical circuits, microwaves, X-ray windows, nuclear reactor fuels and for various aerospace and military applications.

(Beryllium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called microwave therapy.

(Microwave thermotherapy, NCI Dictionary)

Also called microwave thermotherapy.

(Microwave therapy, NCI Dictionary)

Canadian-US scientist James Peebles won his half of the prize for his work in predicting cosmic microwave background and creating a theoretical framework from which other scientists have been able to calculate the age and structure of the universe, including the calculation that the universe is 95% dark matter and dark energy.

(Swedish academy announces 2019 Nobel Prize winners in physics, Wikinews)

The results are especially important to the scientific community because they mark the first time that observations from the more recent universe — the adult universe — by a technique called gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering, have yielded results as precise as those from the cosmic microwave background radiation — light from the infant universe.

(New Clues to Universe's Structure Revealed, NASA)

Because we carry it around, we are subject to more waves than with microwaves.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)