microwave

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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From micro- +‎ wave.

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: mī'krə-wāv", IPA(key): /ˈmaɪkɹəˌweɪv/
  • enPR: mī'krō-wāv", IPA(key): /ˈmaɪkɹəʊˌweɪv/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

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microwave (plural microwaves)

  1. An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves.
    Synonym: SHF
    Hypernyms: radio wave, wave
    Hyponyms: K band, Ka band, Ku band, X band
    Holonym: radio band
    Coordinate terms: longwave, mediumwave, shortwave, UHF
    • 1964 August, “The NER's microwave radio-telephone begins work”, in Modern Railways, page 129:
      Microwaves do not follow the curvature of the earth, but travel in a straight line. They must therefore have unobstructed "line of sight" and the dish aerials have to be sited on towers or high buildings, on high ground, or a combination of all three.
  2. Ellipsis of microwave oven.
    Just put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it's ready to eat.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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microwave (third-person singular simple present microwaves, present participle microwaving, simple past and past participle microwaved)

  1. (transitive) To cook (something) in a microwave oven.
    Synonyms: (colloquial) nuke, microcook, zap
    • 2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian[1]:
      A vengeful mother-of-three has been jailed for 168 days after being convicted of killing a neighbour's kitten by microwaving the 10-week-old pet.
  2. (transitive, slang) To provide minimal preparation for implementation, deeming full or extensive preparation as unnecessary.

Derived terms

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Translations

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