pressure cooker
Americannoun
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a reinforced pot, usually of steel or aluminum, in which soups, meats, vegetables, etc., may be cooked quickly in heat above boiling point by steam maintained under pressure.
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any situation, job, assignment, etc., in which a person is faced with urgent responsibilities or demands by other people, constant deadlines, or a hectic work schedule.
noun
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a strong hermetically sealed pot in which food may be cooked quickly under pressure at a temperature above the normal boiling point of water
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informal a trainee student attending a shortened qualifying course
Etymology
Origin of pressure cooker
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
Tax preparation is a seasonal business — and a hectic pressure cooker.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
Said LaPoma, “We knew it was important then, but it didn’t seem to be the wild pressure cooker situation it is now.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
The biggest non-technical reason is the Preakness is fun, an experience trainers and owners enjoy rather than the price-gouging pressure cooker that is Louisville on Derby week.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2025
Add in the pressure cooker of those final-stage matches and the lopsided talent in the England squad, and it becomes harder to believe Tuchel can infuse international management with Premier League intensity.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2025
Like a pressure cooker, it is designed to hold together even as extreme amounts of steam build up inside it.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
