stockpot

IPA/ˈstɒkpɒt/
IPA/ˈstɑːkpɑːt/

stockpot — noun

1. a large deep pot used for slowly boiling bones, meat, fish, or vegetables in wat

1.nounB2
Definition

a large deep pot used for slowly boiling bones, meat, fish, or vegetables in water to make stock or broth

Example

Tendai left chicken bones simmering in the stockpot all afternoon.

leave + ingredient simmering in a stockpot

The stockpot barely fit on Ezra's stove after he added the turkey.

Common collocations
  • large stockpot
  • stockpot lid
  • stainless steel stockpot
  • fill the stockpot
  • stockpot of broth
Synonyms
  • pot

    a broader everyday word that can refer to many kinds of cooking containers

  • soup pot

    close in meaning, often stressing soup rather than stock

  • Dutch oven

    usually a heavier covered pot that can also go in the oven

Grammar Patterns

a stockpot

a stockpot of [soup/broth]

cook [ingredients] in a stockpot

Usage Note

Usually countable. A stockpot is deeper and larger than a saucepan and is chosen when you need to cook a large amount of liquid for a long time.

Common Mistakes

Heat the sauce in a stockpot for one plate of pasta.
Heat the sauce in a saucepan for one plate of pasta.
A stockpot is usually used for large amounts of soup or stock, not a small serving of sauce.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A stockpot is a deep, roomy pot mainly used when you need a lot of liquid, especially for stock, broth, or soup that cooks for a long time. Pot is the broad everyday word and can refer to many shapes, so it is less exact. A saucepan is smaller, usually has one long handle, and is better for heating sauce, milk, or a small amount of soup. A Dutch oven is heavier and often goes from the stove to the oven, so it suits braises and slow-cooked dishes as well as soup. For example: 'We simmered beef bones in a stockpot all day.' 'She warmed the curry in a saucepan.' 'He baked the stew in a Dutch oven.'

stockpot ↗pot ↗saucepan ↗Dutch oven

Common collocations

Nouns

  • stockpot lid
  • stockpot handle
  • stockpot base
  • stainless steel stockpot

Phrases

  • fill the stockpot
  • leave [ingredients] simmering in a stockpot

Prepositions

  • in a stockpot
  • from the stockpot
  • into the stockpot

Etymology

English

The word 'stockpot' combines 'stock', the cooking liquid made by simmering ingredients in water, with 'pot', a container used for cooking. English speakers formed the compound to name the deep kitchen pot used for preparing a large amount of stock, broth, or soup.

First known use

1835

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1