I. ˈpät, usu -äd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pot, pott, from Old English pott; akin to Old Frisian pott pot, Middle Dutch pot, Middle Low German pot, put, and perhaps to Old English -pūte, a fish with a large head — more at pout
1.
a. : a usually rounded metal or earthen container of varying size used chiefly for domestic purposes: as
(1) : a container used for boiling or cooking — compare kettle
(2) : a container for a beverage
(3) : chamber pot
b. : such a container with its contents
give her a pot and a cake — Daniel Defoe
pot of tea
c. archaic : any of several quantities or measures
a pot of sugar weighs about 70 pounds — Annual Register
2.
a. chiefly Scotland : a pit or depression in the ground or in the bed of a stream
b. archaic : the abyss of hell
3.
a. dialect England : a basket or box used chiefly like one of a pair of panniers
b. : an enclosed framework of wire, wood, or wicker for catching fish, eels, or lobsters — compare pound net
4.
a. : crucible 1
b. : a large round metal receptacle used as part of a still
c. : a valve chamber in a compound-pressure steam pump
d. : an electrolytic cell used in recovering some metals (as aluminum) from a fused electrolyte
5. : a leather or steel protective cap or helmet worn chiefly in the 17th century
6.
a.
(1) : a large amount (as of money)
inherited pot of money
has pots of wealth
(2) : the total prize or aggregate of bets to be won at the outcome of a particular event or contest
(3) : a common resource or fund that may be created or drawn upon by a number of individuals or groups
all the assets and production go into a common pot on which they live — R.R.Nathan
b.
(1) : the total of the bets made in poker or other card games on the outcome of any one deal and usually accumulated in a pile in the center of the table : pool
(2) : a period or interval including the deal, betting, showdown, and determination of the winner in poker : one complete unit or round of play in a poker game
7. slang Britain : favorite
8. : a paper case holding the garniture at the head of a fireworks rocket
9.
[by shortening]
: potshot
10.
[by shortening]
slang : potbelly
11. : an important or prominent person
they're sure to have some big pot … who knows all about the house — J.D.Beresford
12. : ruin , deterioration
business had gone to pot — Alan Hynd
13. slang : an electronic volume control or fading device
14.
[ pot (II) ]
: a shot in which a billiard ball is potted
15. slang : marijuana
II. verb
( potted ; potted ; potting ; pots )
transitive verb
1. slang Britain : fool , deceive , outwit
it is no hard matter to puzzle and to pot you with authority — Richard Montagu
2. : to place or pack in a pot:
a. : to put up in a pot or sealed jar : can , preserve
b. : to place (as a seedling or bulb) in an earth-filled pot for cultivation — often used with up
3. Britain : to pocket (an object ball) in a game of billiards or pool
4.
a. : to shoot or kill (game) for food rather than as a sport
b. : potshot
it was nice, he thought, not to have to … sleep like a cat lest one be potted like a sitting rabbit — P.E.Lehman
5. : to make or shape (earthenware) as a potter
a round bowl has an alternating panel design … and is well potted — W.E.Cox
6. : to treat (sodium nitrate) in a pot with sulfuric acid to form nitric acid
7. : to make superficially attractive by eliminating or oversimplifying difficult matters and emphasizing the exciting and attractive : glamorize
a democracy, sometimes called educated, that prefers its information potted, pictorial, and spiced with sensation — Wilson Harris
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to drink an intoxicating beverage from a pot
2. : to take a potshot : shoot
we … potted at alligators in the reeds — Howard Clewes
III. abbreviation
1. potential
2. potion
3. pottery