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.
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such a container with its contents.
a pot of stew.
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the amount contained in or held by a pot; potful.
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a flowerpot.
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a container of liquor or other drink.
a pot of ale.
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liquor or other drink.
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a cagelike vessel for trapping fish, lobsters, eels, etc., typically made of wood, wicker, or wire.
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a chamber pot.
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Metallurgy.
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a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.
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an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.
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British.
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a chimney pot.
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Dialect. a basket or box used for carrying provisions or the like; a pannier.
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Slang. a large sum of money.
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all the money bet at a single time; pool.
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British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.
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a potshot.
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a liquid measure, usually equal to a pint or quart.
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Armor.
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an open, broad-brimmed helmet of the 17th century.
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any open helmet.
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-
Slang. a potbelly.
verb (used with object)
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pots,
present (3rd person singular)
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potted,
past participle, past
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potting
present participle
-
to put into a pot.
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to preserve (food) in a pot.
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to cook in a pot.
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to transplant into a pot.
We must pot the petunias.
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Hunting.
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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.
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to shoot for food, not for sport.
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Informal. to capture, secure, or win.
verb (used without object)
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pots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
potted,
past participle, past
-
potting
present participle
idioms
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sweeten the pot, sweeten.
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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.
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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.
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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
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the amount that a pot will hold; potful
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a chamber pot, esp a small one designed for a baby or toddler
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a handmade piece of pottery
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a large mug or tankard, as for beer
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any of various measures used for serving beer
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informal a cup or trophy, esp of silver, awarded as a prize in a competition
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the money or stakes in the pool in gambling games, esp poker
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informal (often plural) a large amount, esp of money
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a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceans
a lobster pot
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billiards snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed
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short for chimneypot
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informal a joint fund created by a group of individuals or enterprises and drawn upon by them for specified purposes
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hunting See pot shot
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See potbelly
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to go to ruin; deteriorate
verb
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to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow
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to put or preserve (goods, meat, etc) in a pot
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to cook (food) in a pot
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to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport
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to shoot (game birds or animals) while they are on the ground or immobile rather than flying or running
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(also intr) to shoot casually or without careful aim at (an animal, etc)
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to sit (a baby or toddler) on a chamber pot
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(also intr) to shape clay as a potter
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billiards snooker to pocket (a ball)
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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
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potsimple
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potssimple
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have pottedperfect
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has pottedperfect
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am pottingprogressive
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are pottingprogressive
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is pottingprogressive
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have been pottingperfect progressive
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has been pottingperfect progressive
Past
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pottedsimple
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had pottedperfect
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was pottingprogressive
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were pottingprogressive
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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:
They pulled into the Bagdad Cafe, where — as in the movie — the coffee pot was broken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
And instead of relying on the local soil, they would pot the plants in a material made from coconut fiber, with nutrients and filtered water provided via drip-irrigation technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The big, green lady in the harbor and the melting pot and all that.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Suddenly, the frog jumped out of the pot.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
“We’ll go down to the kitchen where the light won’t show, and we’ll make a pot of coffee.”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
“For all you non-Jews out there, a kochleffel is a ladle, a ladle that stirs the pot. And when Norman, the kochleffel, stirred that pot, he wound up changing American culture.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
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
“Even more than winning a huge pot. The real satisfying part is when you nail one like that.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2022
“Well, you start boiling grits in a pot. Then you go down by the highway and get some horse turds or as you civilized southerners call them ‘road apples.’
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Woodall returned at the cafe’s request, filming the stained, decaying ceiling and the water-catching buckets and coffee pots on the floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The costs of the pots, racks and soil are nominal individually but add up fast at the scale he now operates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Arran also has a side hustle—where he 3-D prints plant pots and sells them on Etsy—that earns him anywhere from $300 to $1,000 monthly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
For Leon Berkers, whose restaurant boat has been stuck in the mud for more than a month, adaptation has so far meant improvising fixes to keep "pots and pans from flying around."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
I gladly—very gladly—help load bedding, tents, pots, and pans onto the longboat to be taken ashore.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Depicted with potted plants, ample relaxation room, and chic luggage storage under Saarinen tulip tables, the people mover, the video promises, “will perhaps be best known for its convenience and its feeling of luxury.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
One such element she shared in her posts is a large brown boucle and wood chair that sits atop a beige rug, alongside a large potted plant.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
That red was potted, but, out of position, Higgins then missed the following black, although it did not prove crucial as he sealed an incredible victory, having trailed 8-3 and 9-4.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
The bar’s back patio was decked out with tea lights and potted palm plants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Shop signs swing toward the heat from their brackets; a potted hedge comes sliding across the rubble and capsizes.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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
But Mrs Bayley points out that the process is remarkably similar to what amateur gardeners do in a potting shed, taking a cutting from a much-loved rose to grow another.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025
“I would trade potting soil to a man who owned a vegan restaurant in exchange for food. You always get what you need here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025
The gunk smelled like potting soil, cedar chips, grape juice and just a hint of fertilizer.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
