Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A metal pan having a rounded bottom, used especially for frying and steaming in Asian cooking.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large, oriental, round-bottomed cooking pan.
  • verb To prepare oriental cuisine using a wok.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun pan with a convex bottom; used for frying in Chinese cooking

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Cantonese wok6, from Middle Chinese xɦuak (also the source of Mandarin huò).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Cantonese  (wok6), in Mandarin called: trad. , simpl. (pinyin: huò) or trad. , simpl. (pinyin: guō).

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Examples

  • "_Yawk, yawk -- wok, wok, wok, wok, wok_," rang out close behind us, and we both fired simultaneously at a faint gleam of what seemed to be yellow light as it flitted through the glade, running forward to get beyond the smoke in the hope that we might have hit it.

    Nat the Naturalist A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seas George Manville Fenn 1870

  • But if you look at the Chinese form of cooking, cooking that's done in the wok is done on a very rapid process.

    Harold McGee's 'Keys To Good Cooking' For Chefs 2010

  • The wok is much hotter than the hottest oven is going to be.

    Harold McGee's 'Keys To Good Cooking' For Chefs 2010

  • As Priya disclosed, it is a wok from the ikea store.

    Uzhunnu vada « Salt and Pepper. 2006

  • Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil in wok until just smoking, then stir-fry remaining ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 5 seconds.

    Everything old is new again.. Michele 2005

  • Seasoning a new wok is really the only troublesome thing about owning one and it is so simple that I hesitate to call it a chore.

    Tigers & Strawberries » Wok Words 2005

  • I will tell you all about why my $15 cheapo wok is one of my favorite cooking pots ever, and how it is special, very soon.

    Toast: Lindy 2005

  • Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil in wok until just smoking, then stir-fry remaining ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 5 seconds.

    If it's pretty, I'll probably eat it.. Michele 2005

  • I will tell you all about why my $15 cheapo wok is one of my favorite cooking pots ever, and how it is special, very soon.

    Thailuski Lindy 2005

  • Like Barbara I am very attracted to hand hammered carbon steel woks, but my traditional Chinese cast iron wok is so good at getting VERY hot and imparting wok-hay, and it’s so seasoned and easy to use now, I am not sure that a carbon steel would ever get used.

    Tigers & Strawberries » Wok Words 2005

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