pot
1a 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.
such a container with its contents: a pot of stew.
the amount contained in or held by a pot; potful.
a flowerpot.
a container of liquor or other drink: a pot of ale.
liquor or other drink.
a cagelike vessel for trapping fish, lobsters, eels, etc., typically made of wood, wicker, or wire.: Compare lobster pot.
a chamber pot.
Metallurgy.
a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.
an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.
British.
a chimney pot.
Dialect. a basket or box used for carrying provisions or the like; a pannier.
Slang. a large sum of money.
all the money bet at a single time; pool.
British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.
a potshot.
a liquid measure, usually equal to a pint or quart.
Armor.
an open, broad-brimmed helmet of the 17th century.
any open helmet.
Slang. a potbelly.
to put into a pot.
to preserve (food) in a pot.
to cook in a pot.
to transplant into a pot: We must pot the petunias.
Hunting.
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.
to shoot for food, not for sport.
Informal. to capture, secure, or win.
Idioms about pot
go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate: With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.
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.
sweeten the pot, Informal. sweeten (def. 8).
Origin of pot
1Other words from pot
- potlike, adjective
Words Nearby pot
Other definitions for pot (2 of 4)
Origin of pot
2Other definitions for pot (3 of 4)
Origin of pot
3Other definitions for pot. (4 of 4)
potential.
potentiometer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pot in a sentence
While a roux is a common thickener that we should all master for dishes such as gravy and gumbo, it is of no use once we’ve already reached the end of a recipe’s instructions and don’t want to bring out another pot.
Sauce, gravy or stew too thin? We’ve got 3 ways to fix that. | Aaron Hutcherson | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostOram suggests heating a pot of water to near boiling, pouring it into a non-insulated, hard-sided bottle like a Nalgene, and placing it in your sleeping bag before you get in.
How to stay warm while sleeping in the frigid outdoors | Alisha McDarris | February 12, 2021 | Popular-ScienceDepending on whether you are right or wrong, $10 is either added to your pot or taken away.
With the installation “What’s Cooking,” artist Bobby Adams frames climate change with the acute, everyday urgency of a pot boiling over.
Baltimore exhibition of outsider art celebrates nature’s ‘excess’ with a wake-up call about pollution | Kelsey Ables | February 8, 2021 | Washington PostHow to boil tree sapWith the largest pot you own and a reliable heat source, you can head outside and start boiling whenever you’ve collected “enough” sap from your trees.
Make your own maple syrup without harming the trees | By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life | February 7, 2021 | Popular-Science
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole | Carla Hall | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSet a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the surface of the water.
Before this latest brush with the law, the rapper was facing pot-bust and unrelated gun charges.
Rapper Bobby Shmurda Arrested at New York’s Notorious Quad Studios | M.L. Nestel | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo too does Inherent Vice, which is something like a love letter written in pot smoke to the Gold Coast.
Paul Thomas Anderson: The West Coast’s Scorsese | Nick Schager | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBecause Wright was a no-show in criminal court to face the loud music and pot bust he already had an outstanding warrant.
A Yankee, whose face had been mauled in a pot-house brawl, assured General Jackson that he had received his scars in battle.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousAnd, old ink pot, tuck a horse blanket under my chin, and rub me down with brickbats while I feed!
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousGunn touched the brim of his soft felt hat, which he wore turned down all round apparently in imitation of a flower-pot.
Dope | Sax RohmerThe pot goeth so long to the water til at length it commeth broken home.
A Selection from the Works of Frederick Locker | Frederick LockerThen with the potatoes we've roasted in the ashes and plenty of bread and butter and a pot of coffee—Well, words fail.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
British Dictionary definitions for pot (1 of 4)
/ (pɒt) /
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
the amount that a pot will hold; potful
a chamber pot, esp a small one designed for a baby or toddler
a handmade piece of pottery
a large mug or tankard, as for beer
Australian any of various measures used for serving beer
informal a cup or trophy, esp of silver, awarded as a prize in a competition
the money or stakes in the pool in gambling games, esp poker
(often plural) informal a large amount, esp of money
a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceans: a lobster pot
billiards snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed
mainly British short for chimneypot
US informal a joint fund created by a group of individuals or enterprises and drawn upon by them for specified purposes
hunting See pot shot
See potbelly
go to pot to go to ruin; deteriorate
to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow
to put or preserve (goods, meat, etc) in a pot
to cook (food) in a pot
to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport
to shoot (game birds or animals) while they are on the ground or immobile rather than flying or running
(also intr) to shoot casually or without careful aim at (an animal, etc)
to sit (a baby or toddler) on a chamber pot
(also intr) to shape clay as a potter
billiards snooker to pocket (a ball)
informal to capture or win; secure
Origin of pot
1- See also pot on
British Dictionary definitions for pot (2 of 4)
/ (pɒt) /
Scot and Northern English dialect a deep hole or pothole
(capital when part of a name): Pen-y-Ghent Pot
Origin of pot
2British Dictionary definitions for pot (3 of 4)
/ (pɒt) /
slang cannabis used as a drug in any form, such as leaves (marijuana or hemp) or resin (hashish)
Origin of pot
3British Dictionary definitions for pot (4 of 4)
/ (pɒt) /
informal short for potentiometer
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with pot
In addition to the idiom beginning with pot
- pot calling the kettle black, the
also see:
- 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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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