noun
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articles, vessels, etc, made from earthenware and dried and baked in a kiln
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a place where such articles are made
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the craft or business of making such articles
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pottery
Compare meaning
How does pottery compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Something made out of clay and baked in a kiln is a piece of pottery—and the craft of creating it is also pottery. You might make pottery in the arts and crafts tent at camp. Anything made from clay that's been fired, or baked at a high temperature in a kiln, is pottery. Some pottery is made on a wheel that turns while the potter forms the shape of a bowl or vase. Other pottery is formed with hands or tools that shape the clay. In the 15th century, a pottery was a potter's shed or studio.
Vocabulary lists containing pottery
The Stone Age - Middle School and High School
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The Stone Age - Introductory
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Sports and Hobbies
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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:
Asian hornets spread through Europe after arriving in southern France in 2004, having reportedly hitched a ride in a consignment of pottery from Asia.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
That’s where I learned to paint and create pottery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Self-proclaimed as “the most comprehensive Etruscan exhibition ever staged outside of Italy,” the exhibition showcases about 175 items, from intricate metalwork to lustrous pottery to a remnant of Europe’s oldest extant book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
AFP found some of the pottery products first appeared in content from real creators, before being appropriated.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
In that long-ago time, the people who lived along this course worked at making pottery, and there was wonderful beauty in it.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Stoneware potteries, coal mines, and steel mills mostly died off to be replaced by refineries, hazardous waste incinerators, unconventional gas wells, and petrochemical facilities.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2023
A range of jubilee teacups, mugs, plates and pillboxes is being produced in Stoke-on-Trent, England, where potteries have been making royal commemorative ware for generations.
From Washington Post ● May 31, 2022
The area that is now Aiken County had some valuable assets such as textile mills, a railroad, the Savannah River port town of Hamburg and potteries.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 13, 2021
He detailed his nightmares about misfortunes befalling his wife and three sons during his long absences, and his frustrating efforts to set up self-sufficient potteries in Ghana and Nigeria.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2012
The Campanian potteries, improperly but commonly called the Etruscan, and the ancient Greek wares, belong to the class of soft and lustrous potteries which are no longer manufactured.
From Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and Science by J. Hamilton Fyfe
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.
