blast furnace

noun

1. a large vertical furnace for smelting iron from ore, using coke as fuel: designed so as to direct a continuous blast of air through the fuel in order to obtain a high rate of combustion.

noun

1. a vertical cylindrical furnace for smelting iron, copper, lead, and tin ores. The ore, scrap, solid fuel, and slag-forming materials are fed through the top and a blast of preheated air is forced through the charge from the bottom. Metal and slag are run off from the base