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

Look carefully and see the reflection in the £220 mirrored stainless-steel teapot.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Her china teapot only had two chips, and she had folded a piece of red checkered fabric for a napkin and laid it on the side of the tray.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Purchases by Hengli and other teapots also explain how China continues to provide a financial lifeline to Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 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

For many years, the teapots were a thorn in Beijing’s side as the central government sought to focus the nation’s refining sector under two state-owned giants, Sinopec and China National Petroleum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Instead, Iranian sellers, Chinese teapots and middlemen go to elaborate lengths to hide their activity, according to U.S. sanctions notifications and indictments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Three steaming teapots circled her like a tiny galaxy orbiting a sun.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton