teapot

American  

[tee-pot] / ˈtiˌpɒt /

noun

• teapots
  plural

1. a container with a lid, spout, and handle, in which tea is made and from which it is poured.

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teapot British  

/ ˈtiːˌpɒt /

noun

1. a container with a lid, spout, and handle, in which tea is made and from which it is served

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teapot Idioms  

1. see tempest in a teapot.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• teapots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of teapot

First recorded in 1610–20; tea + pot ¹

Explanation

When you were little, you might have learned a ditty about a teapot: "I'm a little teapot, short and stout / Here is my handle, here is my spout..." As its name suggests, a teapot is a vessel in which you brew tea. "Tip me over and pour me out!" To make tea, put loose tea or tea bags in a teapot and fill it with very hot water. After the tea steeps, you can pour it into cups. The very first teapots were made in China, and historians believe that tea was drunk directly from the spout, rather than being poured into a cup for drinking. These earliest teapots were made of metal. In the 17th century, porcelain teapots became more common.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teapot teapots

Its stars form a shape that resembles a teapot, including a handle, lid, and spout.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

Amusing and brightly satirical as this turn of events is, it begins to feel more like a tempest in a teapot than the sustainable story engine Hirons was aiming for.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Even then, he omitted from his threat list China’s banks, which do business with Iran, and China’s teapot refineries.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

A number of items listed on the charge sheet including Le Creuset and Joseph Joseph kitchen implements, an Alessi teapot and various Molton Brown toiletries were found inside the vehicle.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

She puts a small teapot in the shape of a chicken in front of Eddie, plus a teacup with a feather design.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Practically all the country’s Iranian imports were handled by teapots, the Treasury says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

As part of that effort, teapots were prevented from importing crude oil directly, which limited their ability to compete against the state-owned refining giants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Unlike large state refiners, the teapots have few overseas assets and less to lose if they get cut off from the U.S. banking system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

And in 2015, the government changed course, allowing some teapots to import crude as Beijing sought to expose state oil giants to more competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Their luxury was teatime, between four and five, when they took down from the wooden slatted shelves their miniature brown teapots inscribed with their names and sat together in a little dayroom off the ward.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan