"stove in"

[semperfiona]

T'other day we drove past a damaged vehicle which I didn't see, and when I asked what Chris had been commenting on, he said, "A car with its side stove in."

At which point I wondered aloud what the present tense verb was. Stave, steve, stove, maybe it's not a verb at all...?

Here's what dictionary.com has to say:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
stove2 /stoʊv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[stohv] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation,
–verb
a pt. and pp. of stave.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
stave /steɪv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[steyv] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, noun, verb, staved or stove, stav·ing.
–noun
1. one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a cask, tub, or similar vessel.
2. a stick, rod, pole, or the like.
3. a rung of a ladder, chair, etc.
4. Prosody.
a. a verse or stanza of a poem or song.
b. the alliterating sound in a line of verse, as the w-sound in wind in the willows.
5. Music. staff1 (def. 9).
–verb (used with object)
6. to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents.
7. to release (wine, liquor, etc.) by breaking the cask or barrel.
8. to break or crush (something) inward (often fol. by in).
9. to break (a hole) in, esp. in the hull of a boat.
10. to break to pieces; splinter; smash.
11. to furnish with a stave or staves.
12. to beat with a stave or staff.
–verb (used without object)
13. to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.
14. to move along rapidly.
—Verb phrase
15. stave off,
a. to put, ward, or keep off, as by force or evasion.
b. to prevent in time; forestall: He wasn't able to stave off bankruptcy.
[Origin: 1125–75; (n.) ME, back formation from staves; (v.) deriv. of the n.]

—Synonyms 4. See verse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.