pressure cooker
Americannoun
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a reinforced pot, usually of steel or aluminum, in which soups, meats, vegetables, etc., may be cooked quickly in heat above boiling point by steam maintained under pressure.
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any situation, job, assignment, etc., in which a person is faced with urgent responsibilities or demands by other people, constant deadlines, or a hectic work schedule.
noun
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a strong hermetically sealed pot in which food may be cooked quickly under pressure at a temperature above the normal boiling point of water
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informal a trainee student attending a shortened qualifying course
Etymology
Origin of pressure cooker
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
This year’s UConn team shows just how well a team can respond when they are handpicked for his pressure cooker.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Tax preparation is a seasonal business — and a hectic pressure cooker.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
Add in the pressure cooker of those final-stage matches and the lopsided talent in the England squad, and it becomes harder to believe Tuchel can infuse international management with Premier League intensity.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2025
“The White Lotus,” which was filmed its first season on location at the Four Seasons in Maui, somehow made an exclusive resort seem like a toxic pressure cooker.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2025
Dimple groaned and clutched her head, feeling like that ancient pressure cooker Mamma still used when she made idli cakes.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
