preheat

Etymology

It is formed from English pre- + heat, from the prefix meaning "before" and the verb.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is also written with a hyphen.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To heat before use or further treatment: 1862, in Scientific American.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1878,^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1895–1900.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a technical term for heating something before use or treatment,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged lists heating an engine to its working temperature before it runs and heating metal before a thermal or mechanical treatment.^[3] Its best-known use is in cooking, for heating an oven to a set temperature before the food goes in, as in recipes that tell the cook to preheat the oven.^[3][5][7] The agent noun preheater, a device for preheating, is recorded from the early 20th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 1862 – to heat before use or further treatment.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To heat an oven, grill or pan to a set temperature before cooking: Preheat the oven before you mix the batter.^[3][7]
2. To heat an engine to its working temperature before running it.^[3]
3. To heat metal before a thermal or mechanical treatment, or generally to heat something beforehand.^[3][2]

Word family

• preheater

Related words

• reheat
• heat

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins