pot
noun
a container of earthenware, metal, etc., usually round and deep and having a handle or handles and often a lid, used for cooking, serving, and other purposes.
pot
1 American
[pot]
/ pɒt /
noun
-
a container of earthenware, metal, etc., usually round and deep and having a handle or handles and often a lid, used for cooking, serving, and other purposes.
-
such a container with its contents.
a pot of stew.
-
the amount contained in or held by a pot; potful.
-
a flowerpot.
-
a container of liquor or other drink.
a pot of ale.
-
liquor or other drink.
-
a cagelike vessel for trapping fish, lobsters, eels, etc., typically made of wood, wicker, or wire.
-
a chamber pot.
-
Metallurgy.
-
a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.
-
an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.
-
-
British.
-
a chimney pot.
-
Dialect. a basket or box used for carrying provisions or the like; a pannier.
-
-
Slang. a large sum of money.
-
all the money bet at a single time; pool.
-
British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.
-
a potshot.
-
a liquid measure, usually equal to a pint or quart.
-
Armor.
-
an open, broad-brimmed helmet of the 17th century.
-
any open helmet.
-
-
Slang. a potbelly.
verb (used with object)
-
pots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
potted,
past participle, past
-
potting
present participle
-
to put into a pot.
-
to preserve (food) in a pot.
-
to cook in a pot.
-
to transplant into a pot.
We must pot the petunias.
-
Hunting.
-
to shoot (game birds) on the ground or water, or (game animals) at rest, instead of in flight or running.
He can't even pot a sitting duck.
-
to shoot for food, not for sport.
-
-
Informal. to capture, secure, or win.
verb (used without object)
-
pots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
potted,
past participle, past
-
potting
present participle
idioms
-
sweeten the pot, sweeten.
-
stir the pot, to promote instability or conflict, as by taunting, encouraging, or otherwise provoking the participants in an ongoing disagreement.
Trolls on Twitter just want to stir the pot.
-
go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate.
With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.
pot
2
American
[pot]
/ pɒt /
noun
Slang.
pot
3
American
[pot]
/ pɒt /
noun
Scot. and North England.
pot.
4
American
abbreviation
Electricity.
-
potential.
-
potentiometer.
pot
1
British
/ pɒt /
noun
-
a container made of earthenware, glass, or similar material; usually round and deep, often having a handle and lid, used for cooking and other domestic purposes
-
the amount that a pot will hold; potful
-
a chamber pot, esp a small one designed for a baby or toddler
-
a handmade piece of pottery
-
a large mug or tankard, as for beer
-
any of various measures used for serving beer
-
informal a cup or trophy, esp of silver, awarded as a prize in a competition
-
the money or stakes in the pool in gambling games, esp poker
-
informal (often plural) a large amount, esp of money
-
a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceans
a lobster pot
-
billiards snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed
-
short for chimneypot
-
informal a joint fund created by a group of individuals or enterprises and drawn upon by them for specified purposes
-
hunting See pot shot
-
See potbelly
-
to go to ruin; deteriorate
verb
-
to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow
-
to put or preserve (goods, meat, etc) in a pot
-
to cook (food) in a pot
-
to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport
-
to shoot (game birds or animals) while they are on the ground or immobile rather than flying or running
-
(also intr) to shoot casually or without careful aim at (an animal, etc)
-
to sit (a baby or toddler) on a chamber pot
-
(also intr) to shape clay as a potter
-
billiards snooker to pocket (a ball)
-
informal to capture or win; secure
pot
2
British
/ pɒt /
noun
pot
3
British
/ pɒt /
noun
pot
4
British
/ pɒt /
noun
pot
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
potsimple
-
potssimple
-
have pottedperfect
-
has pottedperfect
-
am pottingprogressive
-
are pottingprogressive
-
is pottingprogressive
-
have been pottingperfect progressive
-
has been pottingperfect progressive
Past
-
pottedsimple
-
had pottedperfect
-
was pottingprogressive
-
were pottingprogressive
-
had been pottingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pot1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pott; cognate with Dutch, Low German pot, Old Icelandic pottr, Swedish pott, potta, Danish pot, potte; further origin uncertain
Origin of pot2
An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; said to be a shortening of Mexican Spanish potiguaya or potaguaya, apparently contraction of potación de guaya wine or brandy in which marijuana buds have been steeped (literally, “drink of grief” )
Origin of pot3
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English potte, perhaps identical with pot 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Not the exact recipe, but the form: toast, pasta, a frittata, a rice bowl, a substantial salad, perhaps a pot of soup or stew.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
For centuries, this city has been a multiethnic melting pot where European and African, Muslim and Christian cultures converged, and coexisted mostly peacefully.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
It worked to pare down menus and offer dinner deals, and rolled out items like slow-braised pot roast and hash-brown casserole shepherd’s pie.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
She does this by contributing a little bit of money every month into a "sinking fund" - a pot of money set aside for a specific purpose.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
But before she could say anything, the kettle let out a high-pitched whistle, and Sinchi poured it into a copper pot.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Karen said: "The area was starting to fall down, they weren't keeping maintenance on it - the area started going to pot. I don't think they were putting money into it."
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025
And “it’s kind of nice to just make a pot. It’s a little bit more like I have control over this.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
“There is this myth of assimilation, the myth of the melting pot. I say it is a myth because that has never happened,” he continued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2022
“We are struggling as it is, but right now we’re in a bubbling pot. You’re getting people panicking,” Donnelly said, dishing up turkey curry and onion bhajis to serve people recently.
From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2022
“Don’t let them stick to the bottom of the pot. I’m going into the living room and put my feet up and watch television like the Rockefellers.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Residents in the worst-affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles on trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Her father, a classically trained oil painter, kept a potter’s wheel in the garage, throwing pots as a hobby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Residents in the worst affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles on trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Despite their problems, he writes, “texts do have the crucial advantage of starting with words. Teeth, pots and the rest do not.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“But what a lot of work to boil the clothes in the large pots with the bluing powder.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Two crossing paths divide the space into four quarters planted with lavender and potted lemon trees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
In one corner, Biles and Owens have added a potted plant to inject some greenery into the room, while floor-to-ceiling curtains hang over the sliding walls of glass.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026
And it also shined a spotlight on Gabbard’s effectiveness in her position, since she basically serves the function of a potted plant.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
In frame two, he potted 10 reds and 10 blacks but his attempt of a maximum 147 break ended on 80.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
Du Barry gave each one of us a flower potted inside a wire birdcage, and instructed us to change its color and shape.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Depending on what they learn, the fix for future planting projects could be as simple as mixing a bit of native earth into the potting soil where the Joshua tree seedlings are grown.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
He also met a group of primary school pupils taking part in potting in the foundation's Growing Together, Cooking Together programme.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
She created Petersham Nurseries Café, with a dirt floor, wobbly old chairs, secondhand cooking gear installed in a former potting shed, and a simple menu based on whatever was growing in the adjacent garden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
Confined indoors with little Christopher, Milne sat in a potting shed, feeling "gloomy" as the rain poured down, according to Brandreth.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
Tree-ear crouched beside Kang’s rubbish heap—a spot he knew well—and watched as Kang emerged from his potting shed early that evening carrying two small bowls.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
