crucible

[ kroo-suh-buhl ]

noun

1. a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.
2. Metallurgy. a hollow area at the bottom of a furnace in which the metal collects.
3. a severe, searching test or trial.

crucible

¹

/ ˈkruːsɪbəl /

noun

1. a vessel in which substances are heated to high temperatures
2. the hearth at the bottom of a metallurgical furnace in which the metal collects
3. a severe trial or test

Crucible

²

/ ˈkruːsɪbəl /

noun

1. the Crucible
   the Crucible a Sheffield theatre, venue of the annual world professional snooker championship

crucible

/ kro̅o̅′sə-bəl /

1. A heat-resistant container used to melt ores, metals, and other materials.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crucible¹

1400–50; late Middle English crusible, corusible < Medieval Latin crucibulum; compare Anglo-French crusil, Old French croi-suel, croisol night lamp, crucible < Gallo-Romance *croceolus (of uncertain origin), probably Latinized on the model of tūribulum thurible

Word History and Origins

Origin of crucible¹

C15 corusible, from Medieval Latin crūcibulum night lamp, crucible, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

If the witness did in fact witness such a terrible crime, the testimony will survive in the crucible of cross-examination.

From The Daily Beast

And what does it say if we look to war as a crucible for religious belief?

From The Daily Beast

Born in 1961, Barack Obama is our first president since JFK whose worldview was shaped in a non-Cold War crucible.

From The Daily Beast

But it is also, anachronistically, a crucible that can reveal character.

From The Daily Beast

Herzog was never just a novel; from the beginning it was a symbol, a crucible, a shibboleth.

From The Daily Beast

But, as your eminence may notice, the first crucible is turning white hot; it is time to draw the charge.

From Project Gutenberg

He nipped the crucible four inches beneath the rim, testing the grip by lifting it just a couple of inches.

From Project Gutenberg

Now obtain a small quantity of asbestos compound and pack it around the small crucible inside the flowerpot.

From Project Gutenberg

Make sure the crucible is in the exact center of the flowerpot and that their tops are even with each other.

From Project Gutenberg

Closely akin to this "magic crucible" notion of assimilation is the theory of "like-mindedness."

From Project Gutenberg