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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Regardless of political affiliation, one thing is sure—the workplace will be a pressure cooker of emotions once the election results are announced. Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, Ernst Bloch, and other figures, many of whom would come to constitute the body of Continental thought known as the Frankfurt School, all felt stymied in the inflationary pressure cooker of the Weimar Republic. Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024 But in the waning days of a pressure cooker campaign, Selzer's poll for the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, outraged the GOP and gave Democrats false hope ahead of what turned out to be a national Republican rout. Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2024 The High-Stakes Crucible of Racing The pressure cooker environment of motorsport provides a unique lens through which to examine masculinity. Brendan Keegan, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pressure cooker 

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pressure cooker was in 1915

Dictionary Entries Near pressure cooker

Cite this Entry

“Pressure cooker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pressure%20cooker. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

pressure cooker

noun
: a utensil for cooking or preserving foods by means of steam under pressure
pressure-cook
ˌpresh-ər-ˈku̇k
verb

More from Merriam-Webster on pressure cooker

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!