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.
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.
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.
potential.
potentiometer.
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
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
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
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” )
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English potte, perhaps identical with pot 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within the exhibition halls, a bedroom, living room and kitchen -- complete with a glass jug, coffee pot, and spice containers -- recreate details of daily life in the homes of southern Lebanese residents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
All the money you contribute stays in the pot, if you don’t use it up.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
They directed consumers to isolate the plant immediately, keep it in the original pot away from other plants and out of the trash or compost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Trump Accounts estimates the $1,000 starting pot could rise to $6,000 by the time a child reaches 18 even without any further contributions.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
By the time he was eight, he knew how to boil the ridged noodles a few at a time so they didn’t stick together in the pot.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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
“In Godspell, Jesus stirs the pot. He’s a rebel, and I was a rebel.”
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
There’s a massive plant wall flanking one side of the Main Hall, with about 1,200 pots of living greens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 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
"If we have people paying rent in retirement who don't have large pension pots to cover those expenses, then that equals higher risk of pensioner poverty."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Students either catalog recovered artifacts, most of which are ceramics, or "broken pots," as Anderson described them, or supervise excavation trenches.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
She had all the day’s helpers with her—six kindergarten kids carrying pots of red finger paint—and when Miss Newman screamed, they all dropped their pots and finger paint flew all over the place.
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
For readers enjoying their potted orchids at home, Mr. Haskell has a sobering message.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 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
The bar’s back patio was decked out with tea lights and potted palm plants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
It was a strange, rather small room with large potted plants—some of them floor to ceiling.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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
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
She started propagating succulent and houseplant cuttings, potting them in vessels she got from neighbors on a Buy Nothing group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
And it’s true that Anne, currently addicted to playing some farm game on her iPad and not using the potting shed, complete with kiln, that Nick built her, has let joy leak from her life.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
So I put a big sack of potting soil in the seat and try again.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
