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
Davey Winder, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
Electric kettles are a great small appliance that provide an easy way to heat water without having to use your stove.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2024
Devinder Bains, Vogue, 29 July 2024
Settlement is one of many The settlement comes months after the city agreed to pay several hundred other people $21,500 apiece to settle a class-action lawsuit related to a similar incident involving kettling in the Bronx.
—USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for kettle 
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.
Noun
Microsoft emails have been in the news recently as they were being hacked by a man accused of a hack-and-trade fraud, but this is an entirely different kettle of malicious phish.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
Electric kettles are a great small appliance that provide an easy way to heat water without having to use your stove.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2024
Verb
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
Settlement is one of many The settlement comes months after the city agreed to pay several hundred other people $21,500 apiece to settle a class-action lawsuit related to a similar incident involving kettling in the Bronx.
—USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for kettle
Articles Related to kettle
Dictionary Entries Near kettle
Cite this Entry
“Kettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kettle. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share