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

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Etymology

Origin of teapot

First recorded in 1610–20; tea + pot ¹

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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

The Moon helps point the way to a celestial teapot, Venus becomes exceptionally bright, the seasons officially turn, and the Harvest Moon appears with two planetary companions.

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

“Oh, that’s all right, ma’am,” he said and nudged his cup an inch or two in the general direction of the teapot, “quite all right.”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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

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

The teapots are now at the forefront of one of China’s most crucial energy relationships.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Previously, the teapots were limited in how much they could bring in by quotas set by the state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

The seated ones were large teapots, their spouts tucked under their wings.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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