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kiln

American  
[kil, kiln] / kɪl, kɪln /

noun

kilns plural
  1. a furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying something, especially one for firing pottery, calcining limestone, or baking bricks.


verb (used with object)

kilns, present (3rd person singular) kilned, past participle, past kilning present participle
  1. to burn, bake, or treat in a kiln.

kiln British  
/ kɪln /

noun

  1. a large oven for burning, drying, or processing something, such as porcelain or bricks

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to fire or process in a kiln

"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

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Etymology

Origin of kiln

before 900; Middle English kiln ( e ), Old English cylen < Latin culīna kitchen

Explanation

A kiln is a special kind of oven for firing things like pottery and bricks. A ceramic artist might use a kiln once a week to fire the bowls he's made from clay. Some kilns look more like furnaces than ovens, and they reach temperatures far beyond regular household ovens. Electricity is used to power many modern kilns, while others use older techniques of burning wood or even coal. Making mugs and bowls is the primary use of kilns, but there are some that dry lumber, tobacco leaves, or hops as well. The Old English word was cyln, from the Latin root culina, "kitchen or cooking stove."

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Vocabulary lists containing kiln

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 essentially was a home game for Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who grew up in Kiln, Miss., an hour’s drive from the stadium.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2025

That motivated her to get on a site called Kiln Share, where she was able to connect with a woman named Candy who rents out her kiln in East Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023

At the Kiln, Rubasingham has been praised for innovative shows that reflect the diverse communities of the surrounding area.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

In south Wales, a caravan park was evacuated following a risk to life warning, with "the majority" of the Kiln Park site underwater.

From BBC • Nov. 2, 2023

But George Mordington parted with Marion, and went to a street called the Kiln Hill, in which there then was an inn, known by the name of "The Salmon."

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 14 by Various

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