a stove
The (kitchen/ranch) stove (top) provides a hot, flat surface for cooking. It can be powered by electricity, gas, propane or other flammable materials like wood.
Some stoves, like old-fashioned Franklin or wood burning stoves also help heat homes. (Using a stove that is not designed to heat a room to do so can be very inefficient, expensive and even dangerous.)
Many stoves come with an oven as part of the same appliance.
For much of the 20th century, most stoves had 4 burners -- usually 2 larger and 2 smaller on electric stoves. Some compact stoves have only two burners. A hot plate is a stand alone single burner. Newer, deluxe stoves may have six or eight burners.
Related
stove with electric, flat top