colander

American  

[kuhl-uhn-der, kol-] / ˈkʌl ən dər, ˈkɒl- /

Also cullender

noun

1. a metal or plastic container with a perforated bottom, for draining and straining foods.

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colander British  

/ ˈkʌl-, ˈkɒləndə /

noun

1. a pan with a perforated bottom for straining or rinsing foods

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Etymology

Origin of colander

1400–50; late Middle English colyndore, perhaps (with nasalization) < Old Provençal colador < Medieval Latin cōlātōrium, equivalent to Latin cōlā(re) “to strain” (verbal derivative of cōlum strainer) + -tōrium -tory ²

Compare meaning

How does colander compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• colander vs. strainer
• colander vs. sieve

Explanation

Most cooks would agree that a colander is an essential piece of equipment for even the most basic kitchen. It's a bowl, usually made of plastic or metal, with holes in it to allow liquid to drain away from the food. Colanders are used for draining anything — for instance, if you're washing fruit, a colander would make the job quick and easy. If you're cooking pasta, you toss the pasta into a pot of boiling water, then when it's cooked, you pour the contents of the pot through a colander, and what's left behind in the colander, drained and ready to eat, is the pasta.

Example Sentences

Mr Colander thinks the imperative to publish frequently forces young economists to tackle bite-sized problems, rather than asking big questions with distant, uncertain answers.

From Economist • Apr. 15, 2010

IN 1996, David Colander of Middlebury College, in Vermont, expressed his dissatisfaction with decades of economics by invoking a lofty analogy.

From Economist • Apr. 15, 2010

"Economics research has become more a game of chess than a search for understanding reality," says economist David Colander of Middlebury College in Vermont.

From Time Magazine Archive

Colander and Arjo Klamer, a visiting professor at the University of Iowa, surveyed more than 200 graduate students at six top economics departments.

From Time Magazine Archive

Sir Charles Pomander joined them, and found Mr. Colander, the head domestic of the London establishment, cutting with a pair of scissors every flower Mrs. Woffington fancied, that lady having a passion for flowers.

From Peg Woffington by Reade, Charles