What does stew mean?
Stew is a versatile word with both culinary and emotional meanings. As a noun, it names a dish in which meat, vegetables, or other ingredients are cooked slowly in liquid, allowing their flavors to blend and become tender. As a verb, it describes that slow cooking process: onions may stew in butter, or beans may stew in a rich sauce. The word also has a figurative use meaning to worry repeatedly or remain preoccupied with a difficulty. In this sense, “stewing over” a decision suggests that the problem is being turned over mentally without resolution. A “stew” can likewise be a state of anxious thought. The word is usually neutral in register when referring to food, while the figurative meanings often convey anxiety, frustration, or prolonged hesitation.
A dish of meat, vegetables, or other ingredients cooked slowly in liquid. By extension, it can mean a state of worry or anxious preoccupation.
"The pot of stew bubbled quietly on the stove."
To cook food slowly in liquid. Figuratively, it means to worry or become preoccupied with a problem.
"They let the onions stew gently before adding the beans."
The plural is used for individual dishes or preparations: “a collection of regional stews.”
"The restaurant serves several traditional stews."
One word can mean both a slow-cooked meal and a mind full of worries: trouble can simmer, and the person feeling it can stew.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stew come from?
The word appeared in English in the late medieval period, especially in culinary contexts. Its precise origin is debated and should not be stated with certainty; some scholars connect it with Old English and Middle English vocabulary associated with containers or cooking vessels. The modern culinary sense developed from the practice of cooking food slowly in liquid, while the figurative sense arose by analogy with that prolonged process.
Related word forms
How stew is actually used
The culinary senses are common in British and American English. The figurative senses are especially associated with worry or prolonged indecision. In American English, stew also commonly means a person who is confused or upset, especially in informal speech.
Easily confused with stew
This entry concerns the common English word; in the sense of a person who manages or oversees something, the related word is steward, with a different spelling and pronunciation.