# microwave

Pronunciation: US say "MY-kruh-wayv" /ˈmaɪkɹəˌweɪv/; UK

## Noun

1. Short form of microwave oven. — Ellipsis of microwave oven.
   - Simple: Short form of microwave oven. Use this when talking about the kitchen machine that heats food.
   - _She reheated the coffee in the microwave before her meeting._
   - _The office microwave beeps loudly whenever someone uses it._
3. A wave of electromagnetic radiation falling in the part of the spectrum that lies between infrared light and the radio band.
   - Simple: A type of energy wave with a length between infrared light and radio waves.
   - _Engineers use microwaves to transmit data between distant relay stations._
   - _The microwave reflected off the metal surface and returned to the dish._

## Verb

2. To cook or warm food by placing it in a microwave oven.
   - Simple: To cook or heat food using a microwave oven.
   - _Microwave the vegetables for three minutes to soften them._
   - _He microwaved a bowl of oatmeal before heading out the door._
4. To prepare something only minimally before putting it into use, treating thorough preparation as unnecessary. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To get something just barely ready and skip the full preparation, because you think it isn't needed.
   - _The startup microwaved its launch plan and dealt with the problems later._
   - _They microwave every project, shipping rough versions and fixing them on the fly._

## Origin

Formed from the prefix "micro-" combined with "wave."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/microwave (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).