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Synonyms

frying pan

American  
Also fry-pan,

noun

  1. a shallow, long-handled pan in which food is fried.

idioms

  1. out of the frying pan into the fire, free of one predicament but immediately in a worse one.

frying pan British  

noun

  1. a long-handled shallow pan used for frying

  2. from a bad situation to a worse one

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of frying pan

1350–1400; Middle English fryinge panne

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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.

Frying pan and fire dept: Steve Cotterill has left his position as Notts County manager with Portsmouth and Plymouth favourites to appoint him.

From The Guardian • May 27, 2010

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.