frying pan

American  

Also fry-pan,

noun

frying pans plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• frying pans
  plural

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

I know that’s not easy to predict, but it does seem like an “out of the frying pan, into the fire” sort of situation.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

A frying pan was recovered from a bin on St George's Road.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026

Weather that swings from deep freeze to frying pan.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

I broke two eggs into the frying pan.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• wok