Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

microwave

/ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables: mi-crowave
IPA: /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves.

noun

Ellipsis of microwave oven.

verb

To cook (something) in a microwave oven.

Transitive verb

verb

To provide minimal preparation for implementation, deeming full or extensive preparation as unnecessary.

Slang; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Many radar systems use a combination of radio waves and microwaves."
"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."
"Just put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it's ready to eat."
"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."

Etymology

From micro- + wave.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/
British English: /ˈmaɪkɹəʊˌweɪv/

Usage

Inflected Forms

microwaves (plural) microwaves (present, singular) microwaving (participle, present) microwaved (participle, past) microwaved (past)

Derived Forms

antimicrowave microwaveguide microwaveless microwavelike microwavery microwavable microwaveable

Phrases

Cajun microwave convection microwave convection microwave oven cosmic microwave background microwave meal microwave radiation microwave resonant cavity thruster microwave safe

Frequently Paired Words

longwave mediumwave shortwave UHF

Synonyms

SHF nuke microcook zap microwave oven micro-cook

Questions

How do you pronounce microwave?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/.
What does microwave mean?: An electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves.
Where does microwave come from?: From micro- + wave.

How to pronounce microwave

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “microwave”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “microwave”.
Repeat and practice — Say “microwave” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.