potter

1
[ pot-er ]
See synonyms for potter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who makes pottery.

Origin of potter

1
before 1100; Middle English; late Old English pottere.See pot1, -er1

Other definitions for potter (2 of 3)

potter2
[ pot-er ]

verb (used without object), nounChiefly British.

Origin of potter

2
1520–30; frequentative of obsolete, dial. pote to push, poke, Middle English poten,Old English potian to push, thrust. See put, -er6

Other words from potter

  • pot·ter·er, noun
  • pot·ter·ing·ly, adverb

Other definitions for Potter (3 of 3)

Potter
[ pot-er ]

noun
  1. Be·a·trix [bee-uh-triks], /ˈbi ə trɪks/, 1866–1943, English writer and illustrator of children's books.

  2. Paul, 1625–54, Dutch painter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use potter in a sentence

  • They call dad a 'rainbow-chaser,' and say he never can find any pay-rock the way he potters around.

  • We intentionally refrained from a visit to the Potters field, or execution ground, immediately adjacent to the prison.

  • Brahmins and chumars, bankers and tinkers, barbers and bunnias, pilgrims and potters—all the world going and coming.

    Kim | Rudyard Kipling
  • I have known you ever since you came to Jabez Potters, and I never knew you to say a dishonest or unkind word.

  • The idea of giving up a dollar to Jabez Potters mind is bigger than the shooting of a thousand men.

British Dictionary definitions for potter (1 of 3)

potter1

/ (ˈpɒtə) /


noun
  1. a person who makes pottery

British Dictionary definitions for potter (2 of 3)

potter2

esp US and Canadian putter

/ (ˈpɒtə) /


verb
  1. (intr; often foll by about or around) to busy oneself in a desultory though agreeable manner

  2. (intr; often foll by along or about) to move with little energy or direction: to potter about town

  1. (tr usually foll by away) to waste (time): to potter the day away

noun
  1. the act of pottering

Origin of potter

2
C16 (in the sense: to poke repeatedly): from Old English potian to thrust; see put

Derived forms of potter

  • potterer or esp US and Canadian putterer, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Potter (3 of 3)

Potter

/ (ˈpɒtə) /


noun
  1. (Helen) Beatrix. 1866–1943, British author and illustrator of children's animal stories, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

  2. Dennis (Christopher George). 1935–94, British dramatist. His TV plays include Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Singing Detective (1986), and Blackeyes (1989)

  1. Paulus. 1625–54, Dutch painter, esp of animals

  2. 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

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