Definition

1. Noun:

   • A round container: A deep, usually round container used for cooking food or holding liquids or plants.
   • The contents of such a container: The amount that a pot can hold.
   • A large sum of money: A collective sum of money, especially in games like poker or as a prize.
   • A large amount: A large quantity or number of something (often used with 'of').
   • Slang for marijuana: An informal term for the drug cannabis.
   • A paunch: Informal slang for a protruding belly.
   • A resistor: In electronics, a type of variable resistor (short for 'potentiometer').
   • A plumbing fixture: A toilet (short for 'chamber pot').

2. Verb:

   • To plant in a container: To place a plant into a pot for growing.
   • To shoot an animal: To shoot and kill an animal, typically at close range.
   • In billiards/snooker: To hit a ball so it goes into a pocket.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • She boiled water in a large pot. (Container for cooking)
  • He won the entire pot in the poker game. (Sum of money)
  • They found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. (Container and its contents)
  • The police confiscated a small amount of pot. (Marijuana)
  • He's been growing quite a pot lately. (Paunch)

• Verb:

  • I need to pot this new rose bush. (To plant)
  • The hunter potted a rabbit. (To shoot)
  • He potted the black ball to win the frame. (In billiards)

Advanced Usage

• "To go to pot": To deteriorate or become ruined.
  • The old garden has really gone to pot since he moved away.
• "The pot calling the kettle black": A situation where someone criticizes another for a fault they themselves possess.
  • He accused me of being lazy? That's the pot calling the kettle black!
• "To keep the pot boiling": To earn enough money to live on; to maintain activity or interest.
  • She took on freelance work to keep the pot boiling.

Variants and Related Words

• Pottery (n): Objects made from baked clay, such as pots.
• Potted (adj): Grown in a pot; preserved in a pot (e.g., potted meat); presented in a shortened form (e.g., a potted history).
• Potbelly (n): A protruding belly; a type of stove.
• Potshot (n): A random or easy shot; a critical remark made without careful aim.
• Potluck (n): A meal where each guest brings a dish to share.

Synonyms

• Container: Vessel, jar, pan, cauldron.
• Sum of money: Jackpot, pool, kitty.
• Large amount: Lot, heap, pile, slew.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Pot up: To transfer a plant into a pot.
  • These seedlings are ready to be potted up.
• Pot at (archaic/rare): To shoot at.
  • He was potting at tin cans on the fence.

Related Idioms

• A watched pot never boils: Time seems to pass more slowly when you are anxiously waiting for something.
  • Stop checking your email every minute. A watched pot never boils.
• To have a pot to piss in (vulgar slang): To have any money or possessions at all.
  • After the bankruptcy, he didn't have a pot to piss in.

Noun

1. street names for marijuana
2. a resistor with three terminals, the third being an adjustable center terminal; used to adjust voltages in radios and TV sets
3. slang for a paunch
4. the cumulative amount involved in a game (such as poker)
5. (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
   • a batch of letters
   • a deal of trouble
   • a lot of money
   • he made a mint on the stock market
   • see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos
   • it must have cost plenty
   • a slew of journalists
   • a wad of money
6. a container in which plants are cultivated
7. the quantity contained in a pot
8. a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination
9. metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid

Verb

1. plant in a pot
   • He potted the palm