potters

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   People who make bowls, plates and other objects from clay, shaping them and baking them hard.

   Grammar: Plural of potter: one potter, two potters.

   Patterns

   • potters at work

   The potters in this village have used the same red clay for generations.

   Local potters sell their bowls at the Saturday market.

   Two potters share the studio at the end of the lane.

2. 2verbintransitiveBritishinformal

   Moves about or does small jobs in a slow, relaxed and pleasant way.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by about, around or in: he potters in the garden.

   Patterns

   • potters about
   • potters around

   Grandpa potters around the garden every morning.

   She potters in the kitchen while the soup simmers.

   He potters about the shed, fixing small things.

Common combinations

local potters

Local potters exhibit their work every summer.

skilled potters

Skilled potters can shape a vase in minutes.

potters' wheel

The potters' wheel spun steadily.

potters about

He potters about the house all afternoon.

potters around the garden

She potters around the garden without any plan.

Synonyms and how they differ

ceramicists

Ceramicists is a wider, more formal word for artists who work in clay and sometimes glaze.

clay workers

Clay workers is rare and general, while potters is the usual craft word.

dawdles

Dawdles describes slow movement, and potters adds a pleasant, aimless feel.

tinkers

Tinkers suggests fiddling with something, while potters means moving about generally.

Word family

potter noun

a maker of pottery

pottery noun

objects made of baked clay, or the place that makes them

potting noun

the act of putting plants in pots

Commonly confused: potters or putter? potters or Potter?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “potters”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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