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furnace

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A device that provides heat for a building.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

furnuhs

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɝnəs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uscanada

    A device that provides heat for a building.

  2. colloquialfigurative

    Any area that is excessively hot.

  3. figurative

    A place or time of punishment, affliction, or great trial; severe experience or discipline.

  4. An industrial heating device, such as for smelting metal or firing ceramics.

verb

  1. To heat in a furnace.

  2. To exhale like a furnace.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A device that provides heat for a building.

Used this way, furnace is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use furnace

  • “Our house stayed warm all winter thanks to the new furnace.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

blast furnaceinduction furnacemuffle furnacehearth furnacearc furnaceair furnacefurnace temperaturefurnace slag

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • furnace liningnounCompound term

    Lining consisting of material with a high melting point.

  • furnace roomnounCompound term

    A room (usually in the basement of a building) that contains a furnace for heating the building.

  • electric-arc furnacenounCompound term

    An electric furnace in which an electric arc provides the source of heat for making steel.

  • electric furnacenounCompound term

    Any furnace in which the heat is provided by an electric current.

  • gas furnacenounCompound term

    A furnace that burns gas.

  • oil furnacenounCompound term

    A furnace that burns oil.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.