pressure cooker

noun

1

: an airtight utensil for quick cooking or preserving of foods by means of high-temperature steam under pressure

2

: a situation or environment that is fraught with emotional or social pressures

pressure-cook verb

Examples of pressure cooker in a Sentence

The new boss has turned the office into a pressure cooker.

Recent Examples on the Web

Darkly funny and deeply melancholic, the film turns the family estate into a pressure cooker of grief, grudges and reluctant affection. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025

Garden hoses, pressure cookers and air conditioners were also involved in some of the largest recalls so far this year. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025

The Modern Leadership Pressure Cooker Today's CEOs operate in a pressure cooker unlike any era before. —Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

So happy for my man @TommyFleetwood1 for enduring the relentless pressure cooker his quality golf has put him in during these playoffs and there is no more deserving champ. —Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pressure cooker

• booker
• looker
• rooker
• snooker
• onlooker

Kids Definition

pressure cooker

noun

: a utensil for cooking or preserving foods by means of steam under pressure

pressure-cook

ˌpresh-ər-ˈku̇k

verb