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.
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.
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.
sweeten the pot, sweeten.
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.
go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate.
With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.
potential.
potentiometer.
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
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
informal (often plural) 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
short for chimneypot
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
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
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
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” )
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English potte, perhaps identical with pot 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Within the exhibition halls, a bedroom, living room and kitchen -- complete with a glass jug, coffee pot, and spice containers -- recreate details of daily life in the homes of southern Lebanese residents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
An escaped big cat believed to have been roaming the countryside for two months has been captured after being found with injuries in a plant pot in a back garden.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
That’s just a sliver of the $655 million total pot for the competing national teams, depending on performance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
They directed consumers to isolate the plant immediately, keep it in the original pot away from other plants and out of the trash or compost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Grandma was building a fire in the woodstove, so I grabbed a pot and filled it with water.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
“For all you non-Jews out there, a kochleffel is a ladle, a ladle that stirs the pot. And when Norman, the kochleffel, stirred that pot, he wound up changing American culture.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2024
But an older motorcycle taxi driver says legalising marijuana has neither helped nor harmed him: "We're not paying attention because we haven't been smoking pot. It doesn't matter to us anyway."
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2023
“They loved thrifting. They could pick out everything from an incredible motion lamp to an incredible pot. Everything was just so beautiful.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2023
“There is this myth of assimilation, the myth of the melting pot. I say it is a myth because that has never happened,” he continued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2022
“A sheet. A pot. A spoon,” Dr. Martin lists.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
There’s a massive plant wall flanking one side of the Main Hall, with about 1,200 pots of living greens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Residents in the worst affected areas have vented their frustrations by setting piles on trash on fire or banging on pots and pans.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Demonstrators burn trash in the streets and bang pots and pans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Cubans in several locations on the island banged pots on Tuesday evening to express their anger about the latest nationwide power cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Nights she sat up to work on her tinkering, fixing clocks, pots, hand tools.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
Two crossing paths divide the space into four quarters planted with lavender and potted lemon trees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 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
And it also shined a spotlight on Gabbard’s effectiveness in her position, since she basically serves the function of a potted plant.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
Resting on a table behind him are a potted flower and the Grammy Award that Megadeth won in 2017 for metal performance for the title track from the 2016 album “Dystopia.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
She and Nico dropped onto a large birdcage, which promptly broke, dumping them into a cluster of potted ferns along with three very alarmed parrots.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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
She started propagating succulent and houseplant cuttings, potting them in vessels she got from neighbors on a Buy Nothing group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
Zhao Xintong produced a scintillating display of potting to open up a 12-4 lead against seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in their World Championship semi-final.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
The players then traded frames, with Zhao breaking the right corner pocket potting the black while crafting an 86 to draw level at 4-4.
From BBC ● May 1, 2025
We are still waiting for the potting soil, so Dell and I carry the three machines up to #28 and right away I start to take them apart.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
