stowing

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stow

(stō)

tr.v. stowed, stow·ing, stows

a. To place or arrange, especially in a neat, compact way: stowed his gear in the footlocker.

b. To fill (a place or container) by packing tightly.

2. To store for future use: stowed carrots and potatoes in the root cellar.

3. Slang To refrain from; stop.

4. To provide lodging for; quarter.

Phrasal Verb:

stow away

1. To hide oneself aboard a conveyance in order to obtain free transportation.

2. Informal To consume (food or drink) greedily.

[Middle English stowen, from stowe, place, from Old English stōw; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

stow′a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

stowing - the act of packing or storing away

stowage

storage - the commercial enterprise of storing goods and materials

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References in classic literature ?

"Take heart, and do not trouble yourself about that," rejoined Minerva, "let us rather set about stowing your things at once in the cave, where they will be quite safe.

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The goatherds did not understand this jargon about squires and knights-errant, and all they did was to eat in silence and stare at their guests, who with great elegance and appetite were stowing away pieces as big as one's fist.

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As the least tangle or kink in the coiling would, in running out, infallibly take somebody's arm, leg, or entire body off, the utmost precaution is used in stowing the line in its tub.