stew1

noun

• 1 [mass noun] a dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan:lamb stew [count noun]:add to casseroles, stews, and sauces

• 2 [in singular] informal a state of great anxiety or agitation:she’s in a right old stew

• 3 archaic a heated public room used for steam baths.
• a brothel: the stews of Southwark

verb

• 1(with reference to meat, fruit, or other food) cook or be cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan: [with object]:beef stewed in wine
• [no object] British (of tea) become strong and bitter with prolonged brewing.

• 2 [no object] informal remain in a heated or stifling atmosphere:sweaty clothes left to stew in a plastic bag
• worry about something, especially on one’s own:James will be expecting us, so we will let him stew a bit