noun
stoker
STOH-ker/ˈstəʊkər/
A person or device that supplies fuel to a furnace.
The stoker shovels coal into the furnace to keep it burning.
Etymology
The verb behind stoker earlier meant 'to poke' or 'thrust,' an image suited to stirring and feeding a fire. The agent ending names the worker responsible for keeping that fire going.
In context
our stoker did his business so clumsily that Slater in his struggles fell off the engine
More examples
- An automatic stoker feeds pellets into the furnace.
- The ship's stokers work long shifts tending the boiler fires.
- A jammed stoker can interrupt the furnace's fuel supply.
Forms
stoker · stokers
stoke verb — To feed fuel into a fire.
Similar words
- fireman
- Can mean a furnace worker, but commonly means a firefighter.
- feeder
- A broader term for devices supplying material, not necessarily fuel.