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Synonyms

keg

American  
[keg] / kɛg /

noun

  1. a small cask or barrel, usually holding from 5 to 10 gallons (19 to 38 liters).

  2. a unit of weight, equal to 100 pounds (45 kilograms), used for nails.

  3. Also kegger. a keg party; beer bust.

keg British  
/ kɛɡ /

noun

  1. a small barrel with a capacity of between five and ten gallons

    1. an aluminium container in which beer is transported and stored

    2. Also called: keg beer.  beer kept in a keg: it is infused with gas and served under pressure

"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
keg Idioms  

  1. see sitting on a powder keg.

Etymology

Origin of keg

1585–95; earlier cag < Old Norse kaggi

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was a powder keg waiting to blow.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

In 1768 King George III filled Boston with armed troops, creating a powder keg; in two years the spark of a single rifle shot would explode the Boston Massacre.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Dahlia Lithwick: I find the public-facing discourse around shootings to be impoverished, dangerous, and a powder keg on its own terms.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2025

"It's a powder keg now and we need to get something done and we need the Home Office to listen," he added.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025

Page 61 I left him to have a little conversation over by the keg pool.

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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