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• pot
  pot

  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.
• pot.
  pot.

  abbreviation

  potential.

pot

¹ American  

[pot] / pɒt /

noun

1. 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.

2. such a container with its contents.

   a pot of stew.

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

4. a flowerpot.

5. a container of liquor or other drink.

   a pot of ale.

6. liquor or other drink.

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

8. a chamber pot.

9. Metallurgy.

   1. a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.

   2. an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.

10. British.

    1. a chimney pot.

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

11. Slang. a large sum of money.

12. all the money bet at a single time; pool.

13. British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.

14. a potshot.

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

16. Armor.

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

    2. any open helmet.

17. Slang. a potbelly.

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verb (used with object)

• pots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• potted,
  past participle,  past
• potting
  present participle

1. to put into a pot.

2. to preserve (food) in a pot.

3. to cook in a pot.

4. to transplant into a pot.

   We must pot the petunias.

5. Hunting.

   1. 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.

   2. to shoot for food, not for sport.

6. Informal. to capture, secure, or win.

verb (used without object)

• pots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• potted,
  past participle,  past
• potting
  present participle

1. Informal. to take a potshot; shoot.

idioms

1. sweeten the pot, sweeten.

2. stir the pot, to promote instability or conflict, as by taunting, encouraging, or otherwise provoking the participants in an ongoing disagreement.

   Trolls on Twitter just want to stir the pot.

3. go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate.

   With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.

pot ² American  

[pot] / pɒt /

noun

Slang.

1. marijuana.

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pot ³ American  

[pot] / pɒt /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a deep hole; pit.

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pot. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

Electricity.

1. potential.

2. potentiometer.

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pot ¹ British  

/ pɒt /

noun

1. 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

2. short for flowerpot teapot

3. the amount that a pot will hold; potful

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

5. a handmade piece of pottery

6. a large mug or tankard, as for beer

7. any of various measures used for serving beer

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

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

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

11. a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceans

    a lobster pot

12. billiards snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed

13. short for chimneypot

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

15. hunting See pot shot

16. See potbelly

17. to go to ruin; deteriorate

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verb

1. to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow

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

3. to cook (food) in a pot

4. to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport

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

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

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

8. (also intr) to shape clay as a potter

9. billiards snooker to pocket (a ball)

10. informal to capture or win; secure

pot ² British  

/ pɒt /

noun

1. 1. dialect a deep hole or pothole

   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      Pen-y-Ghent Pot

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pot ³ British  

/ pɒt /

noun

1. slang cannabis used as a drug in any form, such as leaves (marijuana or hemp) or resin (hashish)

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pot ⁴ British  

/ pɒt /

noun

1. informal short for potentiometer

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pot More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pot

• 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• potlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• potting
  present
• potted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pot
  simple
• pots
  simple
• have potted
  perfect
• has potted
  perfect
• am potting
  progressive
• are potting
  progressive
• is potting
  progressive
• have been potting
  perfect progressive
• has been potting
  perfect progressive

Past

• potted
  simple
• had potted
  perfect
• was potting
  progressive
• were potting
  progressive
• had been potting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pot
  simple
• will have potted
  perfect
• will be potting
  progressive
• will have been potting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of pot¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pott; cognate with Dutch, Low German pot, Old Icelandic pottr, Swedish pott, potta, Danish pot, potte; further origin uncertain

Origin of pot²

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; said to be a shortening of Mexican Spanish potiguaya or potaguaya, apparently contraction of potación de guaya wine or brandy in which marijuana buds have been steeped (literally, “drink of grief” )

Origin of pot³

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English potte, perhaps identical with pot ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pot pot. pots potted potting

The incident has rattled their calm and quiet neighbourhood, a melting pot of many New York immigrant communities including Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic and Asian residents.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

More clients are moving to strategies where they are building a pot of cash to cover routine healthcare costs and taking coverage that guards just against truly catastrophic events, she said.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

Dad handed us the envelope at a Sunday dinner, with a pot roast going cold on the table because he wouldn’t let anyone eat until he’d made his speech.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Diners can get all-you-can-eat hot pot, barbecue or both—the third option is only a $5 upcharge, making it a great deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Mom had cooked a huge pot of the stuff.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

“We are like all these crabs, stuck in a pot. When one tries to get out of the pot, all the others reach up and pull him back in.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

And “it’s kind of nice to just make a pot. It’s a little bit more like I have control over this.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

"A lot of different influences, thrown into this big melting pot. And I think people are very open minded in the UK about new sounds and new influences."

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2022

“Even more than winning a huge pot. The real satisfying part is when you nail one like that.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2022

"I put Belle-rose elixir in this pot. It'll be a bit stronger for you."

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Pensions or savings invested in pots which have stakes in the company through index tracking funds can be impacted, for example.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

Shortly afterward, Robbins floats through the room to invite guests into the garden for salted caramel pots de crème and lemon balm tea, “grown and dried here,” she adds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

If I were watching a friend’s house while they were out of town, I wouldn’t dream of welcoming them back with a pile of bolognese-crusted pots.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Rio spent $1.5 billion adding 96 efficient, low-carbon smelting pots to replace 100-year-old vats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Within minutes, the table is filled with a feast’s worth of food; there are plates of rice, pots of soup, piles of potatoes, and many servings of meat.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Others—depicting grinning clowns, crying women and morphing objects and creatures, including human figures potted like plants—recall children’s drawings and John Tenniel’s illustrations for “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Depicted with potted plants, ample relaxation room, and chic luggage storage under Saarinen tulip tables, the people mover, the video promises, “will perhaps be best known for its convenience and its feeling of luxury.”

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

If you could have seen inner Mark when he didn't reach the pink, he was doing somersaults and then I potted a good yellow.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

In one corner, Biles and Owens have added a potted plant to inject some greenery into the room, while floor-to-ceiling curtains hang over the sliding walls of glass.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026

Du Barry gave each one of us a flower potted inside a wire birdcage, and instructed us to change its color and shape.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

“But, you know, I got things to do. I gotta buy potting soil, and, you know, plant a plant.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Comedian Alan Carr has lodged plans to convert a potting shed at his castle in the Scottish Borders into a cafe and estate shop.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

She created Petersham Nurseries Café, with a dirt floor, wobbly old chairs, secondhand cooking gear installed in a former potting shed, and a simple menu based on whatever was growing in the adjacent garden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

But Mrs Bayley points out that the process is remarkably similar to what amateur gardeners do in a potting shed, taking a cutting from a much-loved rose to grow another.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025

Axel, like his own fence, like Byrd’s potting shed, like the flower boxes, like the remaining trees, is rooted to the ground.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

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