cauldron
Syllables: caul·dron/ˈkɔːl.dɹən/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
dated/ˈkəʊl.dɹən/
cauldron noun: a large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.
Noun
cauldron (plural cauldrons)
- A large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.
- Double, double, toile and trouble; / Fire burne, and Cauldron bubble.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- […] I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … […]1997, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Raincoast Books, →ISBN, page 102
- A type of encirclement.
- Near-synonym: kettle
- After having defended the constantly shrinking perimeter of their position for over two weeks, the encircled German units in the Cherkassy “cauldron” were ordered to break out.1966, George H. Stein, The Waffen SS: Hitler’s Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945, →ISBN, page 217
- Synonyms:
- kettle
- An unsettled or difficult situation or place.
- Near-synonyms: kettle, pickle; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation
- a cauldron of discontent
- Synonyms:
- kettle, pickle, ass in a sling, bind, bucket of syrup, calvary, cross, cross to bear, difficulty, dilemma
cauldron meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
cauldron in Hindi
- large bowl-shaped pot
- देग deg, हंडा haṇḍā, टाँका ṭā̃kā, देग़ deġ
cauldron in Tamil
- கொப்பறை
cauldron in Urdu
- large bowl-shaped pot
- دیگ deg, ہَنْڈا hanḍā
More languagesFewer languages
- cauldron in Kannada
- ಕೊಪ್ಪರ, ದೊಡ್ಡಹಂಡೆ, ಕೊಪ್ಪರಿಗೆ, ಕಡಾಯಿ
- cauldron in Punjabi
- ਕੜਾਹਾ kaṛāhā
- cauldron in Pashto
- دېګ deg
- cauldron in Tagalog
- kaldero
- cauldron in Arabic
- قِدْر qidr
- cauldron in Malay
- kaldron, kuali, kawah, kenceng
- cauldron in Indonesian
- kaldron, kuali, kawah, kenceng
- cauldron in Thai
- หม้อน้ำ mɔ̂ɔ-náam, หม้อ mɔ̂ɔ
- cauldron in Vietnamese
- nồi, vạc
Examples of cauldron in a sentence
- Large cauldrons are a little tricky to locate, but are well worth the search if you have a place to safely store and use one.2004, Carl Neal, The Magick Toolbox: The Ultimate Compendium for Choosing and Using Ritual Implements and Magickal Tools, Red Wheel/Weiser...
- The cauldron had been formed, and some 2,000 Soviets had been encircled in it; the division estimated this quite a success.2012, Hans Wijers, Winter Storm: The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army, →ISBN, page 153:
- With Old Trafford a cauldron of noise, Kobbie Mainoo somehow kept his cool to curl an equaliser into the corner of the Lyon goal as the tie entered its final minute.2025 April 17, Simon Stone, “Manchester United 5-4 Olympique Lyonnais”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 31 May 2025:
Synonyms of cauldron
19 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of cauldron
| plural | cauldrons |
|---|---|
| alternative form (archaic) | caldron |
| alternative form (obsolete) | caudron |
| alternative form (obsolete) | cawdron |
| alternative form (obsolete) | caadron |
Origin of cauldron
From Middle English caudroun, borrowed from Old Northern French caudron, ultimately from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), from Latin caldus (“hot”). Spelling later Latinized by having an l inserted. See chowder, caldera. The military sense is a semantic loan from German Kessel; compare English kettling.
Words formed from cauldron
Phrases with cauldron
Questions about cauldron
- What does cauldron mean?
- Cauldron means a large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.
- What is cauldron in Hindi?
- Cauldron in Hindi is देग (deg), हंडा (haṇḍā), टाँका (ṭā̃kā). See Cauldron meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use cauldron in a sentence?
- Large cauldrons are a little tricky to locate, but are well worth the search if you have a place to safely store and use one.
- What part of speech is cauldron?
- Cauldron is a noun.
- How do you pronounce cauldron?
- Cauldron is pronounced /ˈkɔːl.dɹən/.
- What is the plural of cauldron?
- The plural of cauldron is cauldrons.
Words near cauldron in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cauldron (page history and authors); cauldron (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); cauldron (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); cauldron (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਕੜਾਹਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); دېګ (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-cauldron.ogg, en-au-cauldron.ogg.
Cite this entry: “cauldron.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cauldron. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.