frying pan

American  

Also fry-pan,

noun

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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of frying pan

1350–1400; Middle English fryinge panne

Compare meaning

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

• saucepan vs. frying pan

Example Sentences

Yet the country may be launching out of the frying pan and into the fire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

When you need a frying pan to cook fluffy omelets, a skillet to brown mushrooms, or a sheet pan for baking an afternoon treat of chocolate chip cookies, it’s tempting to reach for something nonstick.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2024

Now imagine instead of a frying pan, it was the floor beneath you.

From Slate • Aug. 27, 2024

When sunny skies returned, the Olympic skate park — made of concrete and shaped like a bowl — became a giant frying pan.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2024

Big bite after big bite, while the two of them return to staring at dead birds in a frying pan.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

Related Words

• wok