pot

Less common meanings

8. 8
   ruinnounslanguncountable

   Ruin or deterioration; a slide into a neglected or worthless state.

   The neighborhood went to pot after the factory closed.

   Everything has gone to pot since the new rules came in.

   UsageLives in the phrase go to pot, with no article: the garden has gone to pot. It sounds casual and rueful.

   Similarruin, seed

9. 9
   nouncountable

   A small, usually round vessel, often with a lid, that holds or is sold full of a product like paint, face cream, jam, or yogurt.

   A single pot of that night cream costs more than my weekly groceries.

   The hotel breakfast tray came with butter and tiny pots of strawberry jam.

   Similarjar, tub

10. 10
    volume controlnounslangcountable

    A simple device, turned or slid by hand, that adjusts resistance or voltage in an electronic circuit, often to control sound volume.

    The technician replaced a worn pot that was causing the static.

    Each channel on the mixing board has its own volume pot.

    UsageEngineers say volume pot or tone pot; formal specifications usually spell out potentiometer.

    Similarpotentiometer, knob, control

    Note

    Engineers clip potentiometer to its first three letters, so this word shares only its form with the vessel. Technicians speak of a volume pot or a worn pot, and the same clipping gives a verb for fading volume up or down. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The same clipping supplies the verb meaning to fade sound volume. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    lobster trapnouncountable

    A pot-shaped trap, lowered into the sea, used for catching lobsters or other seafood.

    She baited the pot and lowered it over the side of the boat.

    The crew marked each pot with a colored buoy.

    UsageOutside fishing talk, say lobster pot or crab pot, since bare pot suggests the kitchen.

    Similartrap, creel

    Note

    A word of the fishing trade, where the bare pot is enough to mean the trap for lobsters or crabs. In full it is a lobster pot, and lobster trap names the same gear. The same gear gives the verb for catching by pot its meaning. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Lobster pot and lobster trap name the same fishing gear. en.wiktionary.org
    • The fishing verb pot means to catch using a pot. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    preserve foodverbtransitive

    To preserve cooked meat or fish by packing it into a pot or jar and sealing it under a layer of fat or butter.

    Farmers potted their meat in fat to last through the cold months.

    After Christmas she likes to pot the leftover ham under a layer of clarified butter.

    UsageMostly seen as potted: potted meat, potted shrimp.

    Similarpreserve, can, bottle, jar

13. 13
    sink a ballverbtransitive

    In snooker, pool or billiards, to hit a ball into a pocket; of a ball, to go or be able to go into a pocket.

    He potted the final red with a delicate cut shot.

    She managed to pot three balls in a single break.

    UsageThe ball is the object: pot the black. The ball can also be the subject: it won't pot from there.

    Similarsink, pocket

    Oppositemiss

    Note

    The cue-sports verb for scoring with an object ball: the player strikes the cue ball, which drives another ball into one of the table's pockets. Potting a ball usually scores or lets the player continue a break. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The player strikes the cue ball, which strikes an object ball to drive it into a pocket. wpapool.com
14. 14
    cheap shotnounslangabbreviationclipping

    Clipping of potshot: a random shot, or a quick, cheap attack on an easy target.

    UsageUsually in the frame take a pot at someone or something.

    Note

    Potshot cut down to its first syllable, keeping both of its meanings: a random shot and a cheap jab at an easy target. Sports writing stretches it further. Tom Fordyce, reporting England 16-12 Scotland for BBC Sport in 2011, has Wilkinson missing three long-distance pots, meaning kicks at goal, close to the drop-goal verb. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Pot is a clipping of potshot, retaining its literal and figurative meanings. en.wiktionary.org
    • Tom Fordyce reported England 16-12 Scotland for BBC Sport in 2011. bbc.com
    • The report describes Wilkinson missing three long-distance pots, meaning attempts to kick goals. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    shoot (game)verbtransitive

    To shoot at or kill an animal or target with a gun, especially with a quick or casual shot.

    The gamekeeper potted a fox crossing the open field.

    Sentries would pot any rider who approached the wall.

    UsageFor a quick, unaimed shot, usually pot at something: pot at rabbits.

    Similarshoot, bag

    Note

    Hunting writing uses this verb bluntly. The Encyclopaedia of Sport (1897) describes hunters who chase the jaguar into a tree with dogs and then pot it when treed. The target here is cornered game, not a sporting chase. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Encyclopaedia of Sport's first volume was published in 1897. openlibrary.org
    • The book describes hunters pursuing jaguars with dogs and shooting them after they take refuge in trees. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    bellynounslangabbreviationclipping

    Clipping of potbelly: a round belly that sticks out.

    He patted his pot contentedly after the enormous dinner.

    Middle age had given him a noticeable pot.

    UsageUse a: he has a pot, he's getting a pot. Without a, it can sound like the drug.

    Note

    The article matters, because without it the word slides toward the marijuana sense. Quentin Tarantino plays that confusion for laughs in Pulp Fiction (1994), when Fabienne wishes for a pot and Butch hears a wish for some pot. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Pulp Fiction was released in 1994 and was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. en.wikipedia.org
    • Fabienne wishes for a potbelly, and Butch interprets her words as a wish for marijuana. en.wiktionary.org
17. 17
    toiletnouncolloquial

    A vessel used for urination and defecation, such as a chamber pot; by extension, a toilet or lavatory.

    The chambermaid carried the pot down to be emptied at dawn.

    “Clinton,” Gail cried from outside, “are you going to sit on the pot all day?”

    2011, Ben Zeller, Secrets of Beaver Creek

    UsageInformal phrases include sit on the pot. In neutral speech, use toilet, or potty for a young child's toilet.

    Similarpotty, john, commode, can, throne

    Note

    The bedroom vessel is archaic, but the word stays alive in a few blunt fixed expressions where it means the toilet itself: shit or get off the pot, sit on the pot all day. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The bedroom chamber pot is an old-fashioned vessel. en.wikipedia.org
18. 18
    melting vesselnouncountable

    A crucible: a container used for melting metals or other materials at high temperatures.

    The foundry's great pot held tons of molten steel.

    Ore was fed into the pot and heated until it melted.

    Similarcrucible

19. 19
    winverbcolloquialtransitive

    To secure, gain, or win something, often through skill or effort.

    The veteran forward potted the winner late in overtime, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

    Coaches expect him to pot at least thirty goals this season if he stays healthy.

    UsageUsed in sports reports with goal or winner: pot a goal, pot the winner.

    Similarsecure, win, bag, land, net

    Oppositelose

20. 20
    chimney topnouncountable

    A pot-shaped extension of metal or earthenware fitted above the top of a chimney flue.

    A row of terracotta pots crowned the rooftops of the old houses.

    The mason fitted a new pot over the chimney flue.

    UsageUsually called a chimney pot in full.

21. 21
    toilet trainingverbBritishtransitive

    To set someone on a potty or toilet to relieve themselves, most often a young child during toilet training.

    The nanny potted each child before naptime.

    They pot the twins every morning to build a routine.

    UsageThe child is the object: pot the baby. The potty itself usually goes unnamed.

    Note

    British childcare writing uses this verb plainly. Penelope Leach's Your Baby & Child from Birth to Age Five (1977) reckons how many times you would have to pot your baby. Nanny Smith's Nanny Knows Best guide to potty training warns against the derived over-pot. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Penelope Leach wrote Your Baby & Child from Birth to Age Five, first published in 1977. penguin.com.au
    • Leach's book estimates how many times a parent would have to pot a baby. en.wiktionary.org
    • Nanny Knows Best: Successful Potty Training warns against over-potting a child. en.wiktionary.org
22. 22
    potion (games)nounabbreviationclipping

    Clipping of potion: in games, a drink that restores health, magic or another stat.

    He chugged a mana pot to keep casting spells.

    She saved her last pot for the final raid.

    UsageMostly game chat, often with a word before it: health pot, mana pot. Elsewhere, potion is normal.

    Note

    Gamers clip potion the same way, giving a word that looks like the kitchen pot but comes from a different source. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The gaming word pot is a clipping of potion. en.wiktionary.org
    • The gaming word has a different origin from the kitchen vessel. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    catch in a trapverbtransitive

    To catch fish, eels, or other water creatures using a pot, a basket-like trap.

    The crews pot lobster along the rocky coast each morning.

    She had potted several eels before dawn.

    UsageThe catch is the object: fishermen pot crabs, and eels are potted.

    Similartrap, catch

    Note

    Carolyn Ellis's Fisher Folk: Two Communities on Chesapeake Bay (1986) has Fishneck watermen oystering in winter from the same skiffs they potted crabs from in summer. The gear itself is the lobster trap and its kin. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Carolyn Ellis wrote Fisher Folk: Two Communities on Chesapeake Bay, published in 1986. pure.lib.usf.edu
    • The book describes Fishneck watermen using the same skiffs for winter oystering and summer crab potting. en.wiktionary.org
    • A lobster trap is also called a pot. en.wikipedia.org
24. 24
    drop goalverbtransitive

    To score a drop goal, especially in rugby.

    She potted the winning drop goal as time expired.

    Top kickers regularly pot drop goals under heavy pressure.

    UsageUsually pot a drop goal or just pot a goal. Kick a drop goal is the neutral wording.

    Similarkick, slot, score, land

    Oppositemiss

    Note

    In rugby the verb takes goal as its object: a kicker pots a goal, or pots his second, as in Arthur H. Carman's Ranfurly Shield Rugby (1960). Drop goal is understood even when only goal is said. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Arthur H. Carman wrote Ranfurly Shield Rugby. en.wiktionary.org
25. 25
    beer glassnounAustraliacountable

    A glass of beer in Australia, of regionally varying size but typically about 285 mL (10 fluid ounces).

    He ordered a pot of lager at the crowded Melbourne pub.

    In Queensland pubs, a pot of beer is smaller than a schooner, so it suits a quick drink after work.

    UsageOrder a pot of beer or lager. The same glass has other names elsewhere, such as middy, so name the size if unsure.

    Similarmiddy

    Note

    Australian bar talk comes with a map attached. In Victoria and Tasmania the roughly 285 mL glass is a pot. New South Wales calls the same glass a middy, and South Australia calls it a schooner. That is confusing, because elsewhere a schooner is the larger 425 mL glass. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • In Victoria, a pot holds roughly 285 mL. stoneandwood.com.au
    • In Tasmania, pot is a name for a 285 mL beer. stoneandwood.com.au
    • In New South Wales, a middy holds 285 mL. stoneandwood.com.au
    • In South Australia, a schooner holds 285 mL. stoneandwood.com.au
    • Elsewhere in Australia, a schooner normally holds 425 mL. stoneandwood.com.au
26. 26
    nounslangUK

    A favorite; a horse that has been heavily backed to win.
27. 27
    noun

    A traditional unit of volume loosely based on the capacity of a pot.
28. 28
    noun

    A broad-brimmed iron hat worn as a helmet.
29. 29
    noun

    A cask with holes in its base, used to let molasses drain out of raw sugar.
30. 30
    nounobsolete

    A drinking vessel of clay or pewter, used for beer or other liquor.

    "So kindly keep the vainglorious enumeration of your pots for the benefit of those village idiots who compose your particular set of boozing companions."

    1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap
31. 31
    noun

    A deep hole worn down into limestone, especially one leading into a cave system.
32. 32
    noun

    A small shallow hole in the ground that players aim for in some marble games.
33. 33
    noun

    A ceramic or other insulating stand, shaped like a pot, that holds up an electrified third rail and keeps current out of the ground.
34. 34
    noundialectalEast MidlandsYorkshire

    A hard plaster casing put on a broken limb.
35. 35
    noun

    A former paper size measuring 12.5 by 15 inches, also spelled pott.
36. 36
    verb

    To seal an electronic circuit in resin to protect it.
37. 37
    verbBritish

    To have someone locked up in prison with little delay.
38. 38
    verbobsoleteUK

    To drink alcohol, especially often or by habit.

    It is less labour to plough than to pot it.

    1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine
39. 39
    verb

    To drain molasses out of sugar by letting it stand in a cask with holes in it.
40. 40
    verbdialectalEast Midlands

    To set a fractured arm or leg in hardened plaster.
41. 41
    verbslang

    To raise or lower the sound level gradually using a potentiometer.