pressure cooker

American  

Or pressure-cooker

noun

pressure cookers plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pressure cookers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pressure cooker

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

"It becomes a kind of pressure cooker," she explains.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

Tax preparation is a seasonal business — and a hectic pressure cooker.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026

Alicia describes the panto experience as a "little pressure cooker" as they're up against tight turnarounds and short runs.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025

The pressure cooker had a whistle-shaped thing on the top.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood