an electrically operated oven using high-frequency electromagnetic waves that penetrate food, causing its molecules to vibrate and generating heat within the food to cook it in a very short time
Word origin
[1960–65]This word is first recorded in the period 1960–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Pap test, go-go, parvovirus, pop art, zip code
Examples of 'microwave oven' in a sentence
microwave oven
Food cooked in a microwave oven retains vitamins and minerals better than the other cooking methods.
Bennett, Carol Asthma and Eczema - special diet cookbook (1989)
They then used a common household microwave oven to heat up the sponges.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Bigger still is the impact of a microwave oven.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I know — it sounds about as plausible as a riveting microwave oven.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The lift is not much bigger than the average microwave oven.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
You can practically buy a microwave oven with that kind of money.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
They have modern, higher quality interiors and a microwave oven.
The Sun (2009)
They are: a microwave oven, a stepladder and a device for stringing tennis rackets.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The second has a microwave oven and a mattress.
Globe and Mail (2003)
It's like when the microwave oven became de rigueur.