plural kettles
1
: a metallic vessel usually used for boiling liquids
especially
: teakettle
2
3
a
b
: a steep-sided hollow without surface drainage especially in a deposit of glacial drift
4
: a usually large group of raptors (such as hawks or vultures) circling high in the sky on an updraft of warm air
… more than 500 birds have been seen riding the same spiraling thermal air current, or "kettle," as they are known to hawk-watchers.—
Rick Steelhammer
Rick Steelhammer
kettled; kettling
ˈket-liŋ 
ˈke-tᵊl-iŋ
; kettles
: to corral or contain (people) in large numbers by surrounding and forcing into an enclosed area
Police officers stood in a line in front of them but protesters seemed to think they'd be allowed through. They were not. Instead, they were kettled with orange nets, and arrested.—Jen Doll
Jen Doll
kettling
noun
In London, over 30 students were arrested as part of an occupation at Senate House, which included police brutality and kettling.
—Lucy Uprichard
Lucy Uprichard
Examples of kettle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jesse Raub, Bon Appétit, 12 Mar. 2025
The electric kettle boiled water, the television worked, and a game console could be used, all without a gas-guzzling generator.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Feb. 2025
Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2025
Bloodied bodies with gunshot wounds being carted to hospitals; armed police kettling and attacking students in the streets; female protestors covering their faces and running from tear gas and burning cars as other students are beaten with sticks.
—Devinder Bains, Vogue, 29 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for kettle
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Noun
Few kettles can hold temperatures with that wide a range.
—Jesse Raub, Bon Appétit, 12 Mar. 2025
The electric kettle boiled water, the television worked, and a game console could be used, all without a gas-guzzling generator.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
The lawsuit claims cops began kettling the protesters and doused them with pepper spray.
—Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2025
Bloodied bodies with gunshot wounds being carted to hospitals; armed police kettling and attacking students in the streets; female protestors covering their faces and running from tear gas and burning cars as other students are beaten with sticks.
—Devinder Bains, Vogue, 29 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for kettle
Articles Related to kettle
Cite this Entry
“Kettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kettle. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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