pressure cooker: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B1neutral (everyday use), informal (metaphorical use)
Quick answer
What does “pressure cooker” mean?
A sealed pot in which food can be cooked quickly under steam pressure at high temperature.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A sealed pot in which food can be cooked quickly under steam pressure at high temperature.
1) Any highly stressful situation or environment where pressure is intense and constant. 2) Figuratively, a social or political situation liable to erupt in violence or conflict.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in literal meaning. Metaphorical use is equally common in both varieties.
Connotations
The metaphorical sense often implies containment, building tension, and potential for sudden release.
Frequency
Slightly more common in UK media for describing tense political situations.
Grammar
How to Use “pressure cooker” in a Sentence
[environment/situation] is a pressure cooker[subject] turned into a pressure cookercook [food] in a pressure cookerVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “pressure cooker” in a Sentence
noun
British English
- I need to dig out my pressure cooker to make that stew quickly.
- The final weeks of election campaigning are always a political pressure cooker.
American English
- She just got an Instant Pot, which is a type of electric pressure cooker.
- The locker room was a pressure cooker of emotions after the loss.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to high-stress work environments with tight deadlines.
Academic
Used in social sciences to describe conflict-prone social conditions.
Everyday
Common in cooking and describing stressful personal situations.
Technical
Specific engineering and culinary terminology for the appliance.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “pressure cooker”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “pressure cooker”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “pressure cooker”
- Using 'pressure pot' (incorrect), confusing with 'slow cooker' (opposite function), using the article 'the' unnecessarily (e.g., 'I cook in the pressure cooker').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is written as two separate words: 'pressure cooker'.
No, it is only a noun. You cannot 'pressure cooker' something. You 'cook something in a pressure cooker'.
Using it as an adjective (e.g., 'pressure-cooker situation') without a hyphen is often considered informal. In formal writing, it's better to say 'a situation like a pressure cooker'.
A pressure cooker uses steam pressure to cook food very quickly at high heat. A slow cooker (or crockpot) cooks food very slowly at a low temperature over many hours.
A sealed pot in which food can be cooked quickly under steam pressure at high temperature.
Pressure cooker is usually neutral (everyday use), informal (metaphorical use) in register.
Pressure cooker: in British English it is pronounced /ˈprɛʃə ˌkʊkə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈprɛʃər ˌkʊkər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “The office was a pressure cooker in the weeks before the launch.”
- “Living with three teenagers turned the house into a pressure cooker.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a COOKER building up PRESSURE until the whistle blows – just like a stressful situation about to explode.
Conceptual Metaphor
STRESSFUL SITUATION IS A SEALED CONTAINER UNDER PRESSURE.
Practice
Quiz
In a metaphorical sense, 'pressure cooker' best describes: