blast furnace

noun

: a furnace in which combustion is forced by a current of air under pressure
especially : one for the reduction of iron ore

Examples of blast furnace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The output of its blast furnaces formed the tanks, planes and aircraft carriers that helped win World War II, as well as the automobiles and appliances that consumers purchased during the postwar boom. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024 These furnaces use electricity to melt scrap steel and other metals as opposed to blast furnaces, which use coke or fossil fuels. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Feb. 2024 Unlike blast furnaces, which must be run continuously, an electric model can be quickly turned on and off to respond to market conditions like electricity prices, implying the need for a smaller work force, analysts say. Stanley Reed Francesca Jones, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023 The molten metal that emerged from its blast furnaces was molded into the tanks, planes and aircraft carriers that won World War II, as well as the automobiles and appliances that Americans bought in the postwar boom. David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024 The main employer in the city was the metallurgical plant, whose gargantuan blast furnaces churned out more hot steel than any other facility in the Soviet Union. Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024 These two blast furnaces are centerpieces of Britain’s largest steel-making facility, a four-square-mile complex of cavernous factories and rusting metal conveyors on Swansea Bay that produce steel eventually used in cars, cans for baked beans and sports stadiums. Stanley Reed Francesca Jones, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023 Currently, more than 90% of Chinese production comes from blast furnaces, according to Worldsteel. Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2023 Tata, which is based in India, wants to replace the blast furnaces and other parts of the plant dating to the 1950s with one of the world’s largest electric arc furnaces. Stanley Reed Francesca Jones, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blast furnace.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blast furnace was in 1706

Dictionary Entries Near blast furnace

Cite this Entry

“Blast furnace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blast%20furnace. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

blast furnace

noun
: a furnace in which combustion is forced by a stream of air under pressure
especially : one for the reduction of iron ore

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