<p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>The floor of a fireplace, usually of stone, brick, etc., often extending a short distance into a room.</li><li>Home; fireside: the joys of family and hearth.</li><li>Metallurgy: the lower part of a blast furnace, cupola, etc., in which the molten metal collects and from which it is tapped out.</li><li>The part of an open hearth, reverberatory furnace, etc., upon which the charge is placed and melted down or refined.</li><li>A brazier or chafing dish for burning charcoal.</li></ul>