kettle

American  

[ket-l] / ˈkɛt l /

noun

1. a metal container in which to boil liquids, cook foods, etc.; pot.

2. a teakettle.

3. a kettledrum.

4. Geology. kettle hole.

5. an enclosed area to which demonstrators are herded for containment by police.

   Journalists were the first to be allowed to leave the kettle.

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verb (used with object)

1. to surround and contain (demonstrators) in an enclosed area.

   Most demonstrators were too distracted to notice they were being kettled.

kettle British  

/ ˈkɛtəl /

noun

1. a metal or plastic container with a handle and spout for boiling water

2. any of various metal containers for heating liquids, cooking fish, etc

3. a large metal vessel designed to withstand high temperatures, used in various industrial processes such as refining and brewing

4. informal an enclosed space formed by a police cordon in order to contain people involved in a public demonstration

5. short for kettle hole

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verb

1. informal (tr) (of a police force) to contain (people involved in a public demonstration) in an enclosed space

kettle Scientific  

/ kĕt′l /

1. A steep, bowl-shaped hollow in ground once covered by a glacier. Kettles are believed to form when a block of ice left by a glacier becomes covered by sediments and later melts, leaving a hollow. They are usually tens of meters deep and up to tens of kilometers in diameter and often contain surface water.

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kettle Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing kettle

• pot calling the kettle black

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Etymology

Origin of kettle

First recorded before 900; Middle English ketel, from Old Norse ketill, ultimately derived from Latin catillus, diminutive of catīnus “pot”; replacing Old English cetel, cietel, ultimately from Latin as above; compare German Kessel

Example Sentences

There’s a room in an Estée Lauder-owned facility on Long Island where kelp swirls around in giant kettles while scientists pump sounds of the ocean to help unlock its healing powers.

From The Wall Street Journal

She set down the envelope, and got up to fill the kettle.

From Literature

Anna swung the kettle over the fire, and when the water bubbled up she threw in a handful of dried herbs.

From Literature

Her feathers roused and she let out “tea kettle whistles.”

From Los Angeles Times

“She roused her feathers and soon after, more tea kettle whistles came,” the nonprofit wrote in the post.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boiler
• cauldron
• pot
• steamer