Microwave safe
The maker says the item can be used in a microwave oven. The usual sign is a set of wavy lines; there is no single official design.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Whirlpool describes the commonest version as several squiggly lines standing for the microwaves that cook the food. Other makers draw a microwave oven, a dish with four wavy lines above it, or three wavy lines above the word “micro”. Mepal’s guide says the symbol shows whether a product can go in the microwave. The mark matters most on plastic: the US Food and Drug Administration says some plastic containers aren’t meant for a microwave oven because the heat of the food inside can melt them, and that the instructions with each microwave oven say which kinds of container to use.
Also searched as: microwavable symbol, microwave safe symbol, microwave symbol, wavy lines symbol.
These describe what each mark means and who defines it. Most are makers’ own icons rather than a standard, and the same mark can mean slightly different things on different brands. What a particular dish, pan or container can be used for is set by its maker, in its care and use instructions.
No mark, no microwave
On some brands the symbol is the only sign. Sistema makes a separate range for the microwave, with the symbol engraved on the base or printed on the label or carton, and says its products without the symbol can’t be used in a microwave.
Look-alikes
The same wavy lines with a cross through them mean the opposite: not microwave safe.
Read next
- Next in Kitchenware symbolsNot microwave safeThe item is not meant to be used in a microwave oven.
- The same shape in Accessibility symbolsTTY symbolA telephone handset above a keyboard is the International Symbol of TTY. It marks a text telephone, a TTY, which lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired type a phone conversation.
More kitchenware symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Dishwasher safe and other tableware symbols, Whirlpool Corporation, Other dishware symbols 2. Can be placed in microwave
- What do the symbols and specifications on a product mean?, Mepal, Microwave symbol
- FAQs, Sistema Plastics, Can I microwave food in your products?
- Microwave Oven Radiation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Microwave ovens and cookware
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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