noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A metal urn with a spigot, for boiling water for making tea. Traditionally, the water is heated by hot coals or charcoal in a chimney-like tube which runs through the center of the urn. Today, it is more likely that the water is heated by an electric coil.

   "Come on now with the samovar ─ and make haste sorting the letter-bag."

2. 2
   a metal urn with a spigot at the base; used in Russia to boil water for tea wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

broilercookerpot

Example

More examples

"Come on now with the samovar ─ and make haste sorting the letter-bag."

Etymology

From Russian самова́р (samovár, “self-boiler”); from само́ (samó, “self”) + вари́ть (varítʹ, “boil, cook”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.