kiln

American  

[kil, kiln] / kɪl, kɪln /

noun

1. a furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying something, especially one for firing pottery, calcining limestone, or baking bricks.

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verb (used with object)

1. to burn, bake, or treat in a kiln.

kiln British  

/ kɪln /

noun

1. a large oven for burning, drying, or processing something, such as porcelain or bricks

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verb

1. (tr) to fire or process in a kiln

Other Word Forms

• unkilned adjective

Etymology

Origin of kiln

before 900; Middle English kiln ( e ), Old English cylen < Latin culīna kitchen

Explanation

A kiln is a special kind of oven for firing things like pottery and bricks. A ceramic artist might use a kiln once a week to fire the bowls he's made from clay. Some kilns look more like furnaces than ovens, and they reach temperatures far beyond regular household ovens. Electricity is used to power many modern kilns, while others use older techniques of burning wood or even coal. Making mugs and bowls is the primary use of kilns, but there are some that dry lumber, tobacco leaves, or hops as well. The Old English word was cyln, from the Latin root culina, "kitchen or cooking stove."

Example Sentences

At a cavernous facility in Morbi, in India's western Gujarat state, a 200-metre-long propane-powered kiln that normally fires clay nonstop is silent.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Ongoing electrical outages that keep the kiln from operating, among other issues, makes the work challenging, said Svitlana Silina, a 73-year-old retired forestry engineer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

After this, the wood goes into a large kiln where it is dried in a process that can last anywhere from 10 days to six weeks.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2025

I became addicted to the feel of clay, the triumph-failure cycle of the wheel, the loop-de-loop of joy and horror when pieces finally emerged from the kiln.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024

While Min always stayed at the kiln during the crucial first stages of warming and adding more fuel, he usually went home after the openings had been sealed.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

Related Words

• furnace
• stove