Furnace Meaning
/ˈfɝnɪs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn industrial heating device, such as for smelting metal or firing ceramics.
nounA device that provides heat for a building.
Sentence Examples
What do you need a 2000°C furnace for?
A serviceman inspected our furnace.
The heat of the furnace warmed the whole house.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In winter, the ____ in the basement heats the entire house.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The metalworker carefully placed the iron rod into the hot ____ until it became glowing red and soft.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English forneys, from Old French fornais (French fournaise), from Latin fornāx.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For the Lorde toke you and broughte you out of the yernen fornace of Egipte, to be vnto him a people of enheritaunce, as it is come to paſſe this daye."
— 1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Deuteronomye iiij:[20], folio IX, recto:
"For that heroic band—those children of the furnace who, in regions like Texas and Tennessee, maintained their fidelity through terrible trials—we of the North felt for them, and profoundly we honor them."
— 1866, Herman Melville, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, Supplement:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In winter, the ____ in the basement heats the entire house.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The metalworker carefully placed the iron rod into the hot ____ until it became glowing red and soft.