kiln

noun

ˈkiln  ˈkil 

: an oven, furnace, or heated enclosure used for processing a substance by burning, firing, or drying

kiln transitive verb

Did you know?

The word kiln was kindled in Old English as a bundle of c-y-l-n. Unlike many words that descend from Old English, however, kiln is not ultimately Germanic in origin but was borrowed from Latin culina, meaning "kitchen," an ancestor of the English word culinary, which has been a menu option in English since the 17th century. An ingredient in culina is coquere, meaning "to cook" in Latin.

Examples of kiln in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That said, funny things can happen at a brick factory that might have an older kiln or one that’s not designed to heat the contents evenly. —Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2026

The second floor is devoted to four studios with one configured for pottery production with a kiln room. —Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2026

In excavating Pompeii, archaeologists discovered kilns full of unfired terra-cotta vases beneath mountains of ash. —Abbey Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026

Wienerberger aims to have one kiln fully operational on hydrogen—or both partially converted—by autumn 2027. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English kilne, from Old English cyln, from Latin culina kitchen, from coquere to cook — more at cook

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

kiln

noun

ˈkiln  ˈkil 

: an oven or furnace for hardening, burning, or drying something

brick kilns

kiln verb