pressure cooker

American  

Or pressure-cooker

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

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pressure cooker British  

noun

1. a strong hermetically sealed pot in which food may be cooked quickly under pressure at a temperature above the normal boiling point of water

2. informal a trainee student attending a shortened qualifying course

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Etymology

Origin of pressure cooker

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Shale drillers have turned the biggest oil field in the U.S. into a pressure cooker that is literally bursting at the seams.

From The Wall Street Journal

Human beings weren’t meant to create art in this particular kind of pressure cooker.

From Los Angeles Times

Like a pressure cooker, it is designed to hold together even as extreme amounts of steam build up inside it.

From Literature

This win is an important hurdle to overcome, one which should serve them well with the pressure cooker turning up a notch from now on.

From BBC

The trend is the product of a variety of forces that turn the NFL’s worst teams into pressure cookers.

From The Wall Street Journal