stow

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

stow, v. t. [OE. stowen, fr. stowe a place, AS. stow; cf. Icel. eldstōa fireplace, hearth, OFries. stō, and E. stand. √163.].

•  To place or arrange in a compact mass; to put in its proper place, or in a suitable place; to pack; as, to stowbags, bales, or casks in a ship's hold; to stow hay in a mow; to stow sheaves.  [1913 Webster]

  "Some stow their oars, or stop the leaky sides."  [1913 Webster]
•  To put away in some place; to hide; to lodge.  [1913 Webster]

  "Foul thief! where hast thou stowed my daughter?"  [1913 Webster]
•  To arrange anything compactly in; to fill, by packing closely; as, to stow a box, car, or the hold of a ship.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

stow, v.tr.
1 pack (goods etc.) tidily and compactly.
2 Naut. place (a cargo or provisions) in its proper place and order.
3 fill (a receptacle) with articles compactly arranged.
4 (usu. in imper.) sl. abstain or cease from (stow the noise!).

Idiom

stow away
1 place (a thing) where it will not cause an obstruction.
2 be a stowaway on a ship etc.

Etymology

ME, f. BESTOW: in Naut. use perh. infl. by Du. stouwen

THESAURUS

stow

bag, bank, barrel, bottle, box, bundle, bundle away, burden, cache, can, coffer, conceal, cram, crate, delay, deposit, file, fill, freight, heap, heap up, hide, hutch, jam, lade, lay aside, lay away, lay by, lay down, lay in, lay in store, load, lodge, mass, pack, pack away, pigeonhole, pile, place, pocket, postpone, push aside, put aside, put away, put in mothballs, reposit, reservoir, sack, salt away, salt down, secrete, set aside, set by, shelve, ship, sideline, stack, stash, store, store away, stow away, stow down, stuff, table, table the motion, warehouse, wedge

ROGET THESAURUS

stow

Store

VB store, put by, lay by, set by, stow away, set apart, lay apart, store treasure, hoard treasure, lay up, heap up, put up, garner up, save up, bank, cache, accumulate, amass, hoard, fund, garner, save, reserve, keep back, hold back, husband, husband one's resources, deposit, stow, stack, load, harvest, heap, collect, lay in store Adj, keep, file (papers), lay in, preserve.

Location

VB place, situate, locate, localize, make a place for, put, lay, set, seat, station, lodge, quarter, post, install, house, stow, establish, fix, pin, root, graft, plant, shelve, pitch, camp, lay down, deposit, reposit, cradle, moor, tether, picket, pack, tuck in, embed, imbed, vest, invest in, billet on, quarter upon, saddle with, load, lade, freight, pocket, put up, bag, inhabit, domesticate, colonize, take root, strike root, anchor, cast anchor, come to an anchor, sit down, settle down, settle, take up one's abode, take up one's quarters, plant oneself, establish oneself, locate oneself, squat, perch, hive, se nicher, bivouac, burrow, get a footing, encamp, pitch one's tent, put up at, put up one's horses at, keep house, endenizen, naturalize, adopt, put back, replace.

Contraction

VB become small, become smaller, lessen, decrease, grow less, dwindle, shrink, contract, narrow, shrivel, collapse, wither, lose flesh, wizen, fall away, waste, wane, ebb, decay, be smaller than, fall short of, not come up to, render smaller, lessen, diminish, contract, draw in, narrow, coarctate, boil down, constrict, constringe, condense, compress, squeeze, corrugate, crimp, crunch, crush, crumple up, warp, purse up, pack, squeeze, stow, pinch, tighten, strangle, cramp, dwarf, bedwarf, shorten, circumscribe, restrain, (subtraction) 38 abrade, pare, reduce, attenuate, rub down, scrape, file, file down, grind, grind down, chip, shave, shear, wear down.