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

The pumphouse campus once had a machine shop, storehouse, carriage house and stables and a brick-making kiln. —Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2025

Drivers unfamiliar with this stretch of U.S. Highway 17 likely pay little attention to the remains of a 75-foot brick chimney that powered the old rice mill or the huge kiln nearby, both planted in the lush landscape of palmetto trees and marsh grass. —Melissa L. Cooper, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025

Rose has fired everything from jugs to loos and done her utmost to protect the potters from the kiln gods. —Abby Monteil, Them, 14 Oct. 2024

The number represents the temperature required for porcelain to mature in a kiln. —Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 21 Jan. 2025

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