stokehole: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Technical/Historical/Literary
Quick answer
What does “stokehole” mean?
A space or compartment in a ship (especially a steamship) or boiler house where fuel, typically coal, is added to the furnace.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A space or compartment in a ship (especially a steamship) or boiler house where fuel, typically coal, is added to the furnace.
Metaphorically, a hot, oppressive, or hellish environment; a source of intense activity or agitation.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core meaning. Both varieties treat it as a dated technical term.
Connotations
Evokes 19th/early 20th-century industrial or maritime history. In metaphorical use, equally potent in both varieties.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in modern corpora. Slightly higher potential occurrence in British texts due to stronger historical maritime tradition, but the difference is negligible.
Grammar
How to Use “stokehole” in a Sentence
the stokehole of [SHIP/BOILER][VERB: work/toil/descend] in the stokeholeVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “stokehole” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- The stoker emerged from the stokehole, blackened with coal dust.
- The clipper's stokehole was a sweltering cave of noise and flame.
American English
- He worked his way up from the stokehole to become an engineer.
- The old power plant's stokehole has been converted into a museum exhibit.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Unused.
Academic
Used in historical, maritime, or engineering studies discussing pre-diesel steam technology.
Everyday
Virtually unused. Would be understood metaphorically ('It's like a stokehole in here!') but 'sauna' or 'oven' are far more common.
Technical
Precise term in historical naval architecture and marine engineering.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “stokehole”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “stokehole”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “stokehole”
- Misspelling as 'stockhole'.
- Using it as a verb (the verb is 'to stoke').
- Confusing with 'pothole'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Only in historical, literary, or metaphorical contexts. Modern ships and power plants do not have coal stokeholes.
The stokehole is specifically where fuel is fed into the furnace. The engine room houses the engines themselves (pistons, turbines). On older ships, they were often adjacent but separate spaces.
No. The related verb is 'to stoke', meaning to add fuel to or tend a fire. 'Stokehole' is exclusively a noun.
Yes, a 'stoker' or 'fireman' was the labourer who worked in the stokehole, shovelling coal into the furnaces.
A space or compartment in a ship (especially a steamship) or boiler house where fuel, typically coal, is added to the furnace.
Stokehole is usually technical/historical/literary in register.
Stokehole: in British English it is pronounced /ˈstəʊk.həʊl/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈstoʊk.hoʊl/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[Metaphor] To be in the stokehole of (a crisis/situation) = to be at the stressful, active centre of something.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'STOke' the fire + 'HOLE' you work in = the STOKEHOLE.
Conceptual Metaphor
INTENSE ACTIVITY/STRESS IS HEAT. (e.g., 'stoke the fires of rebellion', 'a political stokehole').
Practice
Quiz
In a modern metaphorical context, calling an office 'a stokehole' implies it is: