pot1
n.
- a rounded or cylindrical container used for storage or cooking.
▸a container designed to hold a particular substance:
a coffee pot.
▸a flowerpot.
-
(the pot)
the total sum of the bets made on a round in poker, brag, etc.
- informal a prize in a sporting contest, especially a silver cup.
- informal a pot belly.
- informal an engine cylinder.
- Billiards & Snooker a shot in which a player strikes a ball into a pocket.
v.
(pots, potting, potted)
- plant in a pot.
▸
(pot something on)
transplant a plant from a smaller pot to a larger one.
▸
(pot something up)
transplant a seedling into a flowerpot.
- preserve (food) in a sealed pot or jar.
- Billiards & Snooker strike (a ball) into a pocket.
- informal hit or kill by shooting.
- make pottery.
- Brit. sit (a young child) on a potty.
- encapsulate (an electrical component or circuit) in a liquid insulating material which sets solid.
Phrase
- go to pot
informal deteriorate through neglect. - the pot calling the kettle black
used to convey that the criticisms a person is aiming at someone could equally well apply to themselves.
Derivative
Etymology
OE pott, prob. reinforced in ME by OFr. pot; of unknown ultimate origin.
pot2
Etymology
1930s: prob. from Mex. Sp. potiguaya ‘cannabis leaves’.
pot3
n.
- a potshot.
- (chiefly in rugby) an attempt to score a goal with a kick.
v.
(pots, potting, potted)
score (a goal).
Etymology
1950s: abbrev. of potshot.