kettle

CEFRA2

/ˈkɛ.təl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A container used for boiling water, usually with a handle and spout.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A vessel or appliance used to boil water for the preparation of hot beverages and other foodstuffs.

Examples

  • The fire isn't very hot, so it won't heat the kettle.

  • The pot can't call the kettle black.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈkʰɛɾɫ̩]
  • [ˈkʰɛtᵊɫ̩]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The quantity held by a kettle.

  2. A vessel for boiling a liquid or cooking food, usually metal and equipped with a lid.

  3. A kettle hole, sometimes any pothole.

More examples

In context

  • Steam rose from the boiling kettle.

  • Stick the kettle on and we'll have a nice cup of tea.

  • There's a hot kettle of soup on the stove.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The chef used the blank to heat water for the pasta.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old English ċietel (“kettle, cauldron”) and in Middle English possibly influenced by Old Norse ketill and both from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (“kettle, bucket, vessel”), of uncertain origin and formation. Usually regarded as a borrowing of Late Latin catīllus (“small bowl”), diminutive of Latin catinus (“deep bowl, vessel for cooking up or serving food”), however, the word may be Germanic confused with the Latin: compare Old English cete (“cooking pot”), Old High German chezzi (“a kettle, dish, bowl”), Icelandic kati, ketla (“a small boat”). Cognate with West Frisian tsjettel (“kettle”), Dutch ketel (“kettle”), German Kessel (“kettle”), Swedish kit...