microwave

[mahy-kroh-weyv] /ˈmaɪ kroʊˌweɪv/

noun

an electromagnetic wave of extremely high frequency, 1 GH ₃ or more, and having wavelengths of from 1 mm to 30 cm.

microwave oven.

verb (used without object), microwaved, microwaving.

to use a microwave oven.

verb (used with object), microwaved, microwaving.

to cook, defrost, or otherwise prepare in a microwave oven.

Origin

1930-35; micro- + wave

Related forms

microwaveable, adjective

Examples from the web for microwave

In this episode learn how to cook and reheat food safely in a microwave oven.
It was not a true invisibility cloak, though, since it only worked in two dimensions and only at microwave frequencies.
If your coconut oil is in solid form, run the jar under hot water first or place the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds.
Heated via microwave or in its earlier years by those heat-em-up non-microwave ovens.
Look at a swatch of it and you will want to throw your hair into a side ponytail and make a bowl of microwave popcorn.
These temperature changes are used to generate a microwave signal, which can be measured more easily by conventional electronics.
Power was supplied by a microwave transmitter on the ground.
It proved to be a cardboard microwave oven, symbolising warmed-up fare.
Red wine has to be put in the microwave to be palatable.
They have problems operating a microwave oven or even text messaging let alone a radar targeting system.

British Dictionary definitions for microwave

microwave

/ˈmaɪkrəʊˌweɪv/

noun

electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range 0.3 to 0.001 metres: used in radar, cooking, etc
(as modifier): microwave generator

short for microwave oven

verb (transitive)

to cook in a microwave oven

Word Origin and History for microwave

type of electromagnetic wave, 1931, coined in English from micro- + wave (n.). First record of microwave oven is from 1961; microwave as short for this is attested from 1974; as a verb, from 1976.

microwave in Medicine

microwave mi·cro·wave (mī'krə-wāv', -krō-)
n.
A high-frequency electromagnetic wave, one millimeter to one meter in wavelength, intermediate between infrared and shortwave radio wavelengths. v. mi·cro·waved, mi·cro·wav·ing, mi·cro·waves
To cook or heat using microwaves.

microwave in Science

microwave

(mī'krō-wāv')
An electromagnetic wave with a frequency in the range of 100 megahertz to 30 gigahertz (lower than infrared but higher than other radio waves). Microwaves are used in radar, radio transmission, cooking, and other applications. Microwaves are generated naturally by many astronomical phenomena and are found in cosmic background radiation. See more at electromagnetic spectrum.