ovens

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of oven.

   The bakery installed three new ovens last month.

   Industrial ovens can reach temperatures hot enough to fire ceramics.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the plural noun shares its form with the verb's present-tense form, so word order tells them apart. After a determiner (three ovens) it is a noun; after a singular subject (the chef ovens the loaves) it is a verb. The plural also serves the figurative sense. Sweltering rooms can be called ovens in colloquial speech, just as a single hot place is an oven.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of oven.

   The chef ovens the loaves at high heat for a crisp crust.

   She ovens the root vegetables rather than frying them.

   Note

   The verb behind this form is colloquial, and the -s form carries that informality with it. It suits kitchen talk better than formal prose. It is transitive, so it needs an object: the chef ovens the loaves, she ovens the vegetables. It does not stand alone. The spelling it shares with the plural noun is sorted out by position in the sentence.

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