kettle

ket·tle | \ ˈke-tᵊl

How to pronounce kettle (audio)

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Definition of kettle

1 : a metallic vessel usually used for boiling liquids especially : teakettle

3a : pothole sense 1b

b : a steep-sided hollow without surface drainage especially in a deposit of glacial drift

4 : a usually large group of raptors (such as hawks or vultures) circling high in the sky on an updraft of warm air … more than 500 birds have been seen riding the same spiraling thermal air current, or "kettle," as they are known to hawk-watchers.— Rick Steelhammer

Examples of kettle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Boomchickapop Kettle Corn released four new holiday kettle corn flavors including White Chocolate & Peppermint, Frosted Sugar Cookie, and Hot Cocoa Marshmallow. — Morgan Raum, PEOPLE.com, "The Best New Holiday Foods to Snack on This Season," 20 Nov. 2019 Additional Chicago locations will have kettle pay beginning on Black Friday. — Abdel Jimenez, chicagotribune.com, "Salvation Army bell ringers, who return to some Chicago stores this week, know you may not have spare change. But now you can just tap your phone.," 4 Nov. 2019 Red kettles will be hitting the streets of Brunswick soon, and bell ringers are needed. — Sam Boyer, cleveland, "All good things, like this, must come to an end: Whit & Whimsey," 18 Oct. 2019 Related: see fall foliage from above 1/37 View Slideshow Apple Butter Festival October 12–13 | Berkeley Springs, West Virginia Copper kettles balanced over open flame have been used in Appalachia for centuries. — Caitlin Etherton, National Geographic, "These are the 7 best fall festivals in the United States," 15 Oct. 2019 The cooking vessel must be her great-grandfather Nelson’s 10-gallon kettle. — Jane Black, Washington Post, "Peel, chop and stir for hours: How Appalachia’s beloved community apple-butter parties live on," 2 Oct. 2019 Temperature probes embedded in the kettle record data from the process, and a record of every batch is logged for submission to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. — Ali Bouzari, SFChronicle.com, "The molecular science behind a Larkspur shop’s blueberry ice cream," 27 Sep. 2019 Picture the Beatles playing for 50,000 tea kettles all going off at once. — Ashley Naftule, azcentral, "Shawn Mendes makes all the girls (and women) scream At Gila River Arena," 10 July 2019 Put the kettle on, gather the family, get on your Christmas pajamas, and grab your favorite mug. — Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, "Republic of Tea Now Has Two Teas Inspired by Hallmark’s "Countdown to Christmas"," 10 Nov. 2019

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

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Dictionary Entries near kettle

kettle-bottomed

Statistics for kettle

Last Updated

29 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Kettle.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kettle. Accessed 8 December 2019.

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