stove up
C1 informal inseparable intransitive
In simple words
To be stuck somewhere because your body hurts too much to move.
Literal meaning: 'Stove' is a past form of 'stave,' meaning to crush or break in — so 'stoved up' originally meant broken or crushed.
Meanings
1 C1
idiomatic
informal
(Regional, chiefly US) To be physically unable to move freely due to injury, pain, or old age.
"My grandfather gets all stove up in the winter when his arthritis flares."
Grammar: inseparable
2 C1
idiomatic
informal
(Of an object) To be bent, crushed, or damaged so that it no longer functions properly.
"The old truck's front axle was completely stove up after hitting the ditch."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Chiefly American regional (Southern and rural dialects). Often used in the passive ('stove up'). Rarely heard in formal or urban speech. May also refer to objects that are bent or damaged.
Commonly used with
knee back hip old injury winter cold
Forms
Base
stove up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
stoves up
he/she/it
Past simple
stoved up
yesterday
Past participle
stoved up
have + pp
-ing form
stoving up
continuous
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Synonyms
laid up incapacitated crippled up hobbled immobilized
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