potter
noun
a person who makes pottery.
potter
1 American
[pot-er]
/ ˈpɒt ər /
noun
potters
plural
potter
2
American
[pot-er]
/ ˈpɒt ər /
verb (used without object)
Chiefly British.
Potter
3
American
[pot-er]
/ ˈpɒt ər /
noun
-
Beatrix 1866–1943, English writer and illustrator of children's books.
-
Paul, 1625–54, Dutch painter.
Potter
1
British
/ ˈpɒtə /
noun
-
( Helen ) Beatrix. 1866–1943, British author and illustrator of children's animal stories, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
-
Dennis ( Christopher George ). 1935–94, British dramatist. His TV plays include Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Singing Detective (1986), and Blackeyes (1989)
-
Paulus. 1625–54, Dutch painter, esp of animals
-
Stephen. 1900–70, British humorist and critic. Among his best-known works are Gamesmanship (1947) and One-Upmanship (1952), on the art of achieving superiority over others
potter
2
British
/ ˈpɒtə /
verb
-
(intr; often foll by about or around) to busy oneself in a desultory though agreeable manner
-
(intr; often foll by along or about) to move with little energy or direction
to potter about town
-
to waste (time)
to potter the day away
noun
potter
3
British
/ ˈpɒtə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of potter1
before 1100; Middle English; late Old English pottere. See pot 1, -er 1
Origin of potter2
1520–30; frequentative of obsolete, dial. pote to push, poke, Middle English poten, Old English potian to push, thrust. See put, -er 6
Explanation
If you regularly make bowls and mugs out of clay, you can call yourself a potter. Potters shape soft clay either by pinching it with their fingers or turning it on a wheel while pulling and squeezing the moving clay. After shaping and sometimes glazing or decorating a piece of pottery, a potter bakes it at a high temperature in a special oven called a kiln. The verb potter, "occupy one's self in a pleasant, unhurried way," comes from a different root from the noun — so a potter doesn't necessarily potter around her studio.
Vocabulary lists containing potter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But that requires more time and energy than I’m willing to sacrifice while raising a young child and entertaining my dreams of becoming a star potter.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Chamlee once picked up a charming ceramic sun at a yard sale for $30—only to learn via Google that the stamp on the back marked it as a rare piece by midcentury potter David Gil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
Prof Irish was also able to establish he was probably a potter.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
This L.A. glassblower breaks the rules with his stunning vessels An auto engineer became a full-time potter in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
He would do it—not for the old potter, he thought bitterly, but for Ajima.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
I only sell fiction, but you have Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games,” you have Harry Potter in Hogwarts, you have Thomas in “The Maze Runner.”
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Lakeside to Colchester usually takes less than an hour in the car, but for Rosie Potter it was more than nine hours.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Bell Potter has a speculative buy call on Forrestania and raises its price target by 8.7% to A$1.25/share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Upon awarding the prize, a member of the Nobel committee likened the technology’s ability to store enormous amounts of stuff in seemingly compact spaces to Hermione Granger’s enchanted handbag in the Harry Potter series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The door to the fortune-telling salon opened, and in walked Mrs. Annie Thayer, the pretty lady from Mr. Potter Palmer’s emporium, seeking a consultation with Madam Lucille.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
The jugs are handmade and hand painted by potters at Bairstow Manor in Stoke-on-Trent.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
The founder of Cincinnati’s Rookwood Pottery company, Maria Longworth Nichols, hired potters from Japan such as Kitaro Shirayamadani, who came to work at her factory in 1887.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
We inherited many of Beverly’s treasures once the place became ours, including richly hued bowls, mugs and serving pieces made by regional potters as well as signed oils and watercolors, drawings and numbered prints.
From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2025
Rita was particularly open to working with young potters as well as designers not versed in ceramics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024
Clay, mixed with enough water to be semiliquid: the potters called it “slip.”
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
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.
