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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

I could also skip the kettle for ramen and tea, but that’s a lot to ask.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

"So I think that's going to be my treat, and maybe the kettle, too."

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

Hearing the crackle of a small flame — that slightly charred, earthy smell — while a slab of pork fat pops in the cooking kettle, slowly melting down as the base for tonight’s sauce.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026

Mama still had the tea kettle in her hand.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• boiler
• cauldron
• pot
• steamer