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View synonyms for

kettle

[ket-l]

noun

  1. a metal container in which to boil liquids, cook foods, etc.; pot.

  2. a teakettle.

  3. a kettledrum.

  4. Geology.kettle hole.

  5. an enclosed area to which demonstrators are herded for containment by police.

    Journalists were the first to be allowed to leave the kettle.



verb (used with object)

  1. to surround and contain (demonstrators) in an enclosed area.

    Most demonstrators were too distracted to notice they were being kettled.

kettle

/ ˈɛə /

noun

  1. a metal or plastic container with a handle and spout for boiling water

  2. any of various metal containers for heating liquids, cooking fish, etc

  3. a large metal vessel designed to withstand high temperatures, used in various industrial processes such as refining and brewing

  4. informalan enclosed space formed by a police cordon in order to contain people involved in a public demonstration

  5. short for kettle hole

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. informal(tr) (of a police force) to contain (people involved in a public demonstration) in an enclosed space

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

kettle

  1. A steep, bowl-shaped hollow in ground once covered by a glacier. Kettles are believed to form when a block of ice left by a glacier becomes covered by sediments and later melts, leaving a hollow. They are usually tens of meters deep and up to tens of kilometers in diameter and often contain surface water.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of kettle1

First recorded before 900; Middle English ketel, from Old Norse ketill, ultimately derived from Latin catillus, diminutive of īԳܲ “pot”; replacing Old English cetel, cietel, ultimately from Latin as above; compare German Kessel
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Word History and Origins

Origin of kettle1

C13: from Old Norse ketill; related to Old English cietel kettle, Old High German kezzil; all ultimately from Latin catillus a little pot, from īԳܲ pot
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with kettle, also see pot calling the kettle black.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Posting on X, he said: "Anyone stuck in town who can't get home give me a dm, have 2 sofas people can crash on, can put the kettle on and get people warm at least."

From

A woman who beat a man to death with a kettle has been jailed for a minimum of 18 years.

From

Despite appearing for only a couple of minutes onscreen, she likens the scene’s virality to the sensation of a popcorn kettle, which randomly starts popping under pressure.

From

"It's great to have a fire and the kettle boiling when they come," she said.

From

In addition to air fryers, the council is sending out more than 1,300 slow cookers and nearly 400 one-cup kettles, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

From

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Ketteringkettle base