kiln

American  

[kil, kiln] / kɪl, kɪln /

noun

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)

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

---

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• unkilned
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

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

Residents of the Kiln Park caravan site near to Tenby have been told access to their vehicles may be limited, and there have been reports of raw sewage escaping into the water.

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2024

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

Rubasingham's productions at the Kiln have included Zadie Smith's The Wife of Willesden, which saw the best-selling author update Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale.

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2023

Car Loaded with Lumber on its Edges by the Automatic Stacker, to go into the Dry Kiln cross-wise.

From Seasoning of Wood by Wagner, J. B. (Joseph Bernard)

Related Words

• furnace
• stove