pot

[ pot ]

/ pɒt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a container of earthenware, metal, etc., usually round and deep and having a handle or handles and often a lid, used for cooking, serving, and other purposes.

such a container with its contents: a pot of stew.

the amount contained in or held by a pot; potful.

a flowerpot.

a container of liquor or other drink: a pot of ale.

liquor or other drink.

a cagelike vessel for trapping fish, lobsters, eels, etc., typically made of wood, wicker, or wire.Compare lobster pot.

a chamber pot.

Metallurgy.

a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.
an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.

British.

chimney pot.
Dialect. a basket or box used for carrying provisions or the like; a pannier.

Slang. a large sum of money.

all the money bet at a single time; pool.

British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.

potshot.

a liquid measure, usually equal to a pint or quart.

Armor.

an open, broad-brimmed helmet of the 17th century.
any open helmet.

Slang. a potbelly.

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

to put into a pot.

to preserve (food) in a pot.

to cook in a pot.

to transplant into a pot: We must pot the petunias.

Hunting.

to shoot (game birds) on the ground or water, or (game animals) at rest, instead of in flight or running: He can't even pot a sitting duck.
to shoot for food, not for sport.

Informal. to capture, secure, or win.

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

Informal. to take a potshot; shoot.

Nearby words

postviral syndrome, postvocalic, postwar, posy, posé, pot, pot arch, pot calling the kettle black, pot calling the kettle black, the, pot cheese, pot liquor

Idioms

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

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

Related forms

pot·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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

pot

/ (pɒt) /

noun

a container made of earthenware, glass, or similar material; usually round and deep, often having a handle and lid, used for cooking and other domestic purposes

short for flowerpot, teapot

the amount that a pot will hold; potful

a chamber pot, esp a small one designed for a baby or toddler

a handmade piece of pottery

a large mug or tankard, as for beer

Australian any of various measures used for serving beer

informal a cup or trophy, esp of silver, awarded as a prize in a competition

the money or stakes in the pool in gambling games, esp poker

(often plural) informal a large amount, esp of money

a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceansa lobster pot

billiards snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed

mainly British short for chimneypot

US informal a joint fund created by a group of individuals or enterprises and drawn upon by them for specified purposes

hunting See pot shot

See potbelly

go to pot to go to ruin; deteriorate

verb pots, potting or potted (mainly tr)

to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow

to put or preserve (goods, meat, etc) in a pot

to cook (food) in a pot

to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport

to shoot (game birds or animals) while they are on the ground or immobile rather than flying or running

(also intr) to shoot casually or without careful aim at (an animal, etc)

to sit (a baby or toddler) on a chamber pot

(also intr) to shape clay as a potter

billiards snooker to pocket (a ball)

informal to capture or win; secure

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)

pot

/ (pɒt) /

noun

Scot and Northern English dialect a deep hole or pothole
(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)

pot

/ (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)

pot

⁴

/ (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

Culture 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.”

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

In addition to the idiom beginning with pot

pot calling the kettle black, the

also see:

fish or cut bait (shit or get off the pot)
go to pot
hit the jackpot
sweeten the kitty (pot)
take potluck
tempest in a teapot
watched pot never boils