cauldron

noun

caul·dron ˈkȯl-drən

variants or less commonly caldron

: a large kettle or boiler

: something resembling a boiling cauldron in intensity or degree of agitation

a cauldron of intense emotions

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But 12 months from now, India will have to face their demons amid the intense cauldron of hosting the 50-over World Cup.

Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022 Nowhere has the temperature been hotter than in Arizona, a cauldron for election conspiracy theories.

Chris Megerian, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2022 Nowhere has the temperature been hotter than in Arizona, a cauldron for election conspiracy theories.

Anchorage Daily News, 29 Oct. 2022 Let kids get creative, using play dough to put the finishing touches on a smiling pumpkin, or create their own magical spells inside a witch’s cauldron, among other Halloween scenes.

Alesandra Dubin, Good Housekeeping, 28 Oct. 2022 Hong Kong is widely considered one of the most challenging cities in the world to operate a restaurant -- a roiling cauldron of changing tastes, cleaver-sharp competition and unsavory economics.

Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 17 Oct. 2022 The front of their home has lighted pumpkins and a cemetery, their dining room has ghouls and goblins scattered throughout, and there’s a pot shaped like a pumpkin and a candle that looks like a cauldron in the kitchen.

Joanne Kempinger Demski, Journal Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2022 Stir together pineapple juice, vodka, and blue curacao in a large pitcher or witch's cauldron until mixture turns bright green.

Sonal Dutt, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2022 As this cauldron of resentment took a turn into a new century, Newt Gingrich resigned from Congress.

Claire Potter, The New Republic, 11 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cauldron.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English caudron, caldron, from Anglo-French cauderon, diminutive of caldere basin, from Late Latin caldaria, from feminine of Latin caldarius used for hot water, from calidus warm, from calēre to be warm — more at lee

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of cauldron was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century