crucible

[kroo-suh-buhl]

noun

1. a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.

2. Metallurgy.,  a hollow area at the bottom of a furnace in which the metal collects.

3. a severe, searching test or trial.

Crucible

¹

/ ˈkruːsɪbəl /

noun

1. a Sheffield theatre, venue of the annual world professional snooker championship

crucible

²

/ ˈkruːsɪbəl /

noun

1. a vessel in which substances are heated to high temperatures

2. the hearth at the bottom of a metallurgical furnace in which the metal collects

3. a severe trial or test

crucible

1. A heat-resistant container used to melt ores, metals, and other materials.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crucible¹

1400–50; late Middle English crusible, corusible < Medieval Latin crucibulum; compare Anglo-French crusil, Old French croi-suel, croisol night lamp, crucible < Gallo-Romance *croceolus (of uncertain origin), probably Latinized on the model of tūribulum thurible

Word History and Origins

Origin of crucible¹

C15 corusible, from Medieval Latin crūcibulum night lamp, crucible, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Sondheim, Mr. Joseph writes, used games “as a crucible for relationships to get messy and deepen.”

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New York was “a crucible where ordinary people, artists, and outcasts brushed shoulders with superstars in the making,” Mr. Ferrando writes.

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There were lessons learned through that crucible, she admits now, and plenty of things she might do differently.

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The exchange endured even after his death in 1883, when Morisot’s private collection of Manet’s art became a crucible for her own.

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Nor were the Dodgers on the cusp of the World Series, in the crucible of October.

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When To Use

What does crucible mean?

A crucible is a severe test or trial or an extremely challenging experience.This figurative sense of crucible is based on the literal meaning of the word: a heat-resistant container used to melt metals. Crucible in the literal sense is used in the context of metallurgy, the science of working with and refining metals. The word is perhaps best known from its use as the title of the 1953 play The Crucible by Arthur Miller.Example: Their friendship was forged in the crucible of boot camp.