kettle
/ˈkɛ.təl/noun, verb
kettle is spelled K-E-T-T-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kettle means “A vessel for boiling a liquid or cooking food, usually metal and equipped with a lid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kettle is kettles.
How many letters and syllables are in kettle?
| Letters | 6: K-E-T-T-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kettle?
Kettle appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kettle?
- /ˈkɛ.təl/
- [ˈkʰɛtᵊɫ̩]
- US /ˈkɛ.təl/
Kettle has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-gb-kettle.oga, En-us-kettle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with kettle
Also written: pot kettle black.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of kettle
- kettles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kettling participle, present
- kettled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kettle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A vessel for boiling a liquid or cooking food, usually metal and equipped with a lid.
To cook pasta, you first need to put the kettle on.
- 2
The quantity held by a kettle.
- 3
A vessel or appliance used to boil water for the preparation of hot beverages and other foodstuffs.
Stick the kettle on and we'll have a nice cup of tea.
- 4
A kettle hole, sometimes any pothole.
- 5
A group of raptors swirling and spiraling upward as they ride a thermal, especially when migrating.
a kettle of hawks
- 6
slangA steam locomotive.
- 7
A kettledrum.
- 8
An instance of kettling; a group of protesters or rioters confined in a limited area.
- 9
Alternative form of kiddle (“kind of fishweir”).
verb
- 1
To contain demonstrators in a confined area.
- 2
Of a boiler: to make a whistling sound like the boiling of a kettle, indicative of various types of fault.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate kettle?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of kettle: PKB.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kettle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bouilloire , nasser |
| German | Kessel, Kochtopf |
| Portuguese | chaleira, bule |
| Spanish | caldera, calentador, pava |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kettle come from?
From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old English ċietel (“kettle, cauldron”) and in Middle English possibly influenced by Old Norse ketill and both from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (“kettle, bucket, vessel”), of uncertain origin and formation. Usually regarded as a borrowing of Late Latin catīllus (“small bowl”), diminutive of Latin catinus (“deep bowl, vessel for cooking up or serving food”), however, the word may be Germanic confused with the Latin: compare Old English cete (“cooking pot”), Old High German chezzi (“a kettle, dish, bowl”), Icelandic kati, ketla (“a small boat”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).