pot1 /pot/ noun- Any of various usu deep and round domestic containers used as cooking utensils, or for preservation and storage
- The contents or capacity of such a container
- A chamberpot
- A flowerpot or plantpot
- A teapot
- Earthenware, or a handmade earthenware vessel
- A vessel of fireclay used to contain the glass during melting (glass-making)
- A trophy, esp a cup (informal)
- A pocket, or a stroke in which the object ball enters a pocket (snooker, etc)
- (usu in pl) a large sum of money (informal)
- A large stake or bet (informal)
- An accumulated pool of bets in a gambling game
- A heavily-backed horse
- An important person (usu big pot; informal)
- A pot-belly (informal)
- A pot shot (informal)
- A simple helmet (historical)
- A wicker trap for lobsters, etc, a lobster pot
- A size of paper (also pott) about 12 by 15 inches (30.5 by 38cm; so called from its original watermark)
adjective Made of clay or earthenware transitive verb (pottˈing; pottˈed)- To put into pots, for preserving, etc
- To cook in a pot
- To plant in a pot
- To manufacture (pottery)
- To drain molasses from (sugar) during the refining process
- To shoot (a creature) for the pot (ie as a meal), by a pot shot, or generally to bag, win, secure
- To pocket (a snooker or billiard ball)
- To epitomize or summarize, esp simplistically
- To encapsulate (an electronic component) in a protective insulating resin
- To sit (a baby) on a chamberpot
intransitive verb- To make pottery, esp by hand
- To take a pot shot (with at)
- To tipple (Shakespeare)
ORIGIN: Late OE pott; cf Ger Pott; Swed potta; Dan potte; Fr pot; origin unknown potˈful noun (pl potˈfuls) As much as a pot will hold pottˈable adjective (snooker, etc) pottˈed adjective - Cooked or preserved in a pot
- Condensed, concentrated
- Abridged
- (of music, etc) recorded for reproduction, canned (informal)
- Intoxicated by drugs or alcohol (N Am inf)
potˈale noun Refuse from a grain distillery pot bank noun A pottery pot barley noun Barley whose outer husk has been removed by millstones potˈ-bellied adjective pot-bellˈy noun (informal) - A protuberant belly
- A person who has a protuberant belly
- (also pot-bellied stove) a wood- or coal-burning stove of bulbous design (N American)
potˈboiler noun - A work in art or literature produced merely with regard to saleability, to secure the necessaries of life
- A producer of such works
- A pebble heated up and used for boiling water (archaeology)
potˈboiling noun potˈ-bound adjective (of a pot plant) having its roots cramped by too small a pot, without room for growth potˈboy noun A serving boy in a public house pot companion noun A comrade in drinking pot furnace noun A furnace, which may be variously fired, in which a number of pots for glassmaking are set potˈgun noun - A mortar
- A popgun
potˈ-hanger noun A device for hanging a pot or a pothook on pot hat noun - A bowler hat
- Formerly, a top hat
potˈ-head noun - A stupid person
- See also pothead under pot2
pot herb noun A vegetable, esp one used for flavouring, eg parsley pot holder noun A piece of thick padded material used to protect the hands when handling hot dishes, etc potˈhole noun - A hole worn in rock in a stream bed by eddying detritus
- A deep hole eroded in limestone, a pot (see pot4)
- A hole worn in a road surface
intransitive verb and transitive verb To explore (limestone potholes) potˈholer noun potˈholing noun potˈhook noun - A hook for hanging a pot over a fire
- A hooked stroke in writing
potˈhouse noun (old) An alehouse potˈ-hunter noun - Someone who hunts to get food
- Someone who shoots merely for the sake of a bag
- Someone who competes merely for the sake of prizes
potˈ-hunting noun potˈ-lid noun - The cover of a pot
- (Scot patˈ-lid) a curling-stone played exactly on the tee
pot liquor noun A thin broth in which meat has been boiled pot luck noun - (in the expression take pot luck) what may happen to be in the pot and so be available to make a meal, esp for the unexpected arrival
- Whatever happens to be available
potˈman noun - A pot companion
- A pot boy
pot metal noun - An alloy of copper and lead
- Scraps of old iron pots, etc
pot plant noun A plant grown in a pot pot roast noun A dish of braised meat, esp with added vegetables potˈ-roast transitive verb To braise potˈsherd /-shûrd/ noun (esp archaeology) A fragment of pottery (also potˈshard, (Spenser) potˈshare) potˈshop noun A small public house pot shot noun - A shot within easy range
- A casual or random shot
- A shot taken at a bird or animal with a view to one's next meal
- A critical remark aimed at an easy or undeserving target
potˈ-sick adjective (of a plant) sickly from growing in a pot pot stick noun A stick for stirring what is being cooked in a pot pot still noun A still in which heat is applied directly to the pot containing the wash (cf patent still) potˈ-still adjective Made in a pot still potˈstone noun Impure talc or steatite, a massive finely felted aggregate of talc, usu with mica and chlorite, from which cooking pots were fashioned in earlier times potting compost noun A compost mixture used for growing plants in pots potting shed noun A garden shed in which plants are grown in pots before being planted out in beds pot-valˈiant or pot-valˈorous adjective Full of drink-inspired courage pot valour noun potˈ-walloper noun see separate entry pot-waller big pot (informal) An important person go to pot (informal) - To go to ruin
- To go to pieces (orig to supply the cooking pot, not the melting-pot)
keep the pot boiling or a-boiling - To procure the necessaries of life
- To keep things going briskly without stopping
pot of gold - The object of fairytale quests, traditionally to be dug up where the rainbow ends
- Any vainly sought source of wealth, etc
pot on To transfer (a plant) into a larger pot pot up To put (a plant) into a pot put someone's pot on (Aust informal) - To inform on someone, give someone away
- To undo or finish someone
the pot calling the kettle black Castigation of another's faults by someone with the same shortcomings |