Meaning & use
teapot
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Meanings
nouncountable
A container with a handle, a lid, and a spout, used for making and pouring tea.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a teapot, two teapots, or the teapot.
Patterns
- a pot of tea
- pour tea from a teapot
- fill the teapot with water
She filled the teapot with boiling water and added three tea bags.
The little china teapot has a chip on its spout.
He lifted the teapot and poured tea for everyone at the table.
nouncountable
The amount of tea held by one such container.
Grammar: Used after 'a' or a number to mean a full container of tea, as in 'we drank two teapots'.
Patterns
- drink a teapot of something
- order a teapot of tea
We sat in the cafe and drank a whole teapot between us.
The waiter brought a teapot of green tea to the table.
Word forms
| plural | teapots |
|---|
Common combinations
- a china teapot
- The cupboard is full of delicate china teapots.
- put the teapot on
- Put the teapot on and we'll have a cup while we talk.
- a teapot of tea
- They ordered a teapot of tea and two cakes.
- brew tea in a teapot
- My grandmother always brewed tea in a teapot, never in a mug.
- the teapot lid
- Steam hissed out from under the teapot lid.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- teapotful noun
- The amount that one teapot holds; a rare but understandable word.
Commonly confused: teapot or kettle? teapot or teacup?
teapot vs kettle
A kettle boils water and usually has a spout and a lid too, but you do not make tea inside it.
teapot vs teacup
A teacup is the small cup you drink from, while a teapot is the larger pot the tea is poured from.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'teapot' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A teapot is the pot you pour tea from, so 'poured the tea from the teapot' fits. 'Boil the teapot' is wrong because you boil water in a kettle, and a teapot is not a cup you drink from.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “teapot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.