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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
He said schools had become "a pressure cooker", adding the survey of its members "paints a picture of a system under severe strain".
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
This year’s UConn team shows just how well a team can respond when they are handpicked for his pressure cooker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Tax preparation is a seasonal business — and a hectic pressure cooker.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
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 ● Oct. 19, 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.
