pot

1 [pot] noun, verb, pot·ted, pot·ting.
noun
1.
a container of earthenware, metal, etc., usually round and deep and having a handle or handles and often a lid, used for cooking, serving, and other purposes.
2.
such a container with its contents: a pot of stew.
3.
the amount contained in or held by a pot; potful.
4.
a flowerpot.
5.
a container of liquor or other drink: a pot of ale.
6.
liquor or other drink.
7.
a cagelike vessel for trapping fish, lobsters, eels, etc., typically made of wood, wicker, or wire. Compare lobster pot.
8.
a chamber pot.
9.
Metallurgy.
a.
a vessel for melting metal; melting pot.
b.
an electrolytic cell for reducing certain metals, as aluminum, from fused salts.
10.
British.
a.
chimney pot.
b.
Dialect. a basket or box used for carrying provisions or the like; a pannier.
11.
Slang. a large sum of money.
12.
all the money bet at a single time; pool.
13.
British Slang. (in horse racing) the favorite.
14.
potshot.
15.
a liquid measure, usually equal to a pint or quart.
16.
Armor.
a.
an open, broad-brimmed helmet of the 17th century.
b.
any open helmet.
17.
Slang. a potbelly.
verb (used with object)
18.
to put into a pot.
19.
to preserve (food) in a pot.
20.
to cook in a pot.
21.
to transplant into a pot: We must pot the petunias.
22.
Hunting.
a.
to shoot (game birds) on the ground or water, or (game animals) at rest, instead of in flight or running: He can't even pot a sitting duck.
b.
to shoot for food, not for sport.
23.
Informal. to capture, secure, or win.
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verb (used without object)
24.
Informal. to take a potshot; shoot.
Idioms
25.
go to pot, to become ruined; deteriorate: With no one to care for it, the lovely old garden went to pot.
26.
sweeten the pot. sweeten ( def 8 ).
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English pott (see potter1); cognate with Dutch, Low German pot (perhaps > French pot)

Related forms
pot·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

pot

2 [pot]
noun Slang.
marijuana.
Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; said to be a shortening of Mexican Spanish potiguaya or potaguaya, apparently contraction of potación de guaya wine or brandy in which marijuana buds have been steeped (literally, drink of grief)

pot

3 [pot]
noun Scot. and North England.
a deep hole; pit.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English; perhaps identical with pot1

pot.

Electricity.
1.
potential.
2.
potentiometer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To pot
Collins
World English Dictionary
pot1 (pɒt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a container made of earthenware, glass, or similar material; usually round and deep, often having a handle and lid, used for cooking and other domestic purposes
2.  flowerpot short for teapot
3.  the amount that a pot will hold; potful
4.  a chamber pot, esp a small one designed for a baby or toddler
5.  a handmade piece of pottery
6.  a large mug or tankard, as for beer
7.  (Austral) any of various measures used for serving beer
8.  informal a cup or trophy, esp of silver, awarded as a prize in a competition
9.  the money or stakes in the pool in gambling games, esp poker
10.  informal (often plural) a large amount, esp of money
11.  a wicker trap for catching fish, esp crustaceans: a lobster pot
12.  billiards, snooker a shot by which a ball is pocketed
13.  chiefly (Brit) short for chimneypot
14.  informal (US) a joint fund created by a group of individuals or enterprises and drawn upon by them for specified purposes
15.  hunting See pot shot
16.  See potbelly
17.  go to pot to go to ruin; deteriorate
 
—vb , pots, potting, potted
18.  to set (a plant) in a flowerpot to grow
19.  to put or preserve (goods, meat, etc) in a pot
20.  to cook (food) in a pot
21.  to shoot (game) for food rather than for sport
22.  to shoot (game birds or animals) while they are on the ground or immobile rather than flying or running
23.  (also intr) to shoot casually or without careful aim at (an animal, etc)
24.  to sit (a baby or toddler) on a chamber pot
25.  (also intr) to shape clay as a potter
26.  billiards, snooker to pocket (a ball)
27.  informal to capture or win; secure
 
[Late Old English pott, from Medieval Latin pottus (unattested), perhaps from Latin pōtus a drink; compare Middle Low German pot, Old Norse pottr]

pot2 (pɒt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
a.  dialect (Scot), (Northern English) a deep hole or pothole
 b.  (capital when part of a name): Pen-y-Ghent Pot
 
[C14: perhaps identical with pot1 but possibly of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect putt water hole, pit]

pot3 (pɒt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
slang cannabis used as a drug in any form, such as leaves (marijuana or hemp) or resin (hashish)
 
[C20: perhaps shortened from Mexican Indian potiguaya]

pot4 (pɒt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
informal short for potentiometer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pot
"vessel," from late O.E. pott and O.Fr. pot, both from a general Low Gmc. and Romanic word from V.L. *pottus, of uncertain origin, said by OED to be unconnected to L.L. potus "drinking cup" (c.600). Celtic forms are said to be borrowed from Eng. and French. Slang meaning "large sum of money staked on
a bet" is attested from 1823. Potbellied is first attested 1657; potholder is from 1928. Pot roast is from 1881; pot-pie is 1823, Amer.Eng.; phrase go to pot (16c.) suggests cooking. Potted in the fig. sense of "put into a short, condensed form" is attested from 1866. In phrases, the pot calls the kettle black-arse is from c.1700; shit or get off the pot is traced by Partridge to Canadian armed forces in World War II.

pot
"marijuana," 1938, probably a shortened form of Mexican Sp. potiguaya "marijuana leaves."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

pot definition


  1. n.
    a toilet. (Usually with the.) : Jimmy's on the pot, Mommy.
  2. n.
    a drinking vessel. (Old but still heard.) : How about a pot of beer?
  3. in.
    to drink heavily; to use a pot(sense 2) to excess. : Let's sit here and pot for a while.
  4. n.
    a vessel, hat, basket, etc., used to collect or receive contributions. : Please pass the pot.
  5. n.
    a sum of money collected; a pool of money. : How large is the pot this month?
  6. n.
    cannabis; marijuana. (Originally drugs, now widely known.) : The cops found pot growing next to city hall.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
pot.
potential
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

pot

In addition to the idiom beginning with pot, also see fish or cut bait (shit or get off the pot); go to pot; hit the jackpot; sweeten the kitty (pot); take potluck; tempest in a teapot; watched pot never boils.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The fabled melting pot was always a boiling cauldron of differences.
The marijuana legalization crowd hates the raids on pot dispensaries.
The things they own-a cooking pot, a water container, an ax-can be wrapped in a
  blanket and carried over a shoulder.
Next, fill a pot large enough to hold a quart of water.
Images for pot
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