pot

1
[ pot ]
/ pɒt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), pot·ted, pot·ting.

verb (used without object), pot·ted, pot·ting.

Informal. to take a potshot; shoot.

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compact
joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid.
ready or inclined to fight.
not participating actively.
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Idioms for pot

    go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate: With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.
    sweeten the pot. sweeten(def 8).

Origin of pot

1
1150–1200; Middle English pott (see potter1); cognate with Dutch, Low German pot (perhaps > French pot)

OTHER WORDS FROM pot

pot·like, adjective

Words nearby pot

postviral syndrome, postvocalic, postwar, posy, posé, pot, pot arch, pot calling the kettle black, pot calling the kettle black, the, pot cheese, pot liquor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to go to pot

perish, decay, disintegrate, warp, crumble, wither, spoil, molder, stain, decompose, languish, lower, return, wane, dwindle, recede, drop, sag, worsen, slide

British Dictionary definitions for go to pot (1 of 4)

pot1
/ (pɒt) /

noun

verb pots, potting or potted (mainly tr)

See also pot on

Word Origin for pot

Late Old English pott, from Medieval Latin pottus (unattested), perhaps from Latin pōtus a drink; compare Middle Low German pot, Old Norse pottr

British Dictionary definitions for go to pot (2 of 4)

pot2
/ (pɒt) /

noun

  1. Scot and Northern English dialect a deep hole or pothole
  2. (capital when part of a name)Pen-y-Ghent Pot

Word Origin for pot

C14: perhaps identical with pot 1 but possibly of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect putt water hole, pit

British Dictionary definitions for go to pot (3 of 4)

pot3
/ (pɒt) /

noun

slang cannabis used as a drug in any form, such as leaves (marijuana or hemp) or resin (hashish)

Word Origin for pot

C20: perhaps shortened from Mexican Indian potiguaya

British Dictionary definitions for go to pot (4 of 4)

pot4
/ (pɒt) /

noun

informal short for potentiometer
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

Cultural definitions for go to pot

go to pot

To decline or deteriorate: “Since most of the businesses moved out to the suburbs, my old neighborhood has really gone to pot.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with go to pot (1 of 2)

go to pot

Also, go to the dogs. Deteriorate, decline; come to a bad end. For example, My lawn has gone to pot during the drought, or The city schools are going to the dogs. The first of these colloquial expressions dates from the late 1500s and alludes to inferior pieces of meat being cut up for the stewpot. The second, from the 1600s, alludes to the traditional view of dogs as inferior creatures. Also see rack and ruin; run to seed.

Idioms and Phrases with go to pot (2 of 2)

pot
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.