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 WebIEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2024
Everything in the store — grilling kits, espresso machines, tea kettles, baking sheets, paring knives and much more — is marked down between 20% and 70% off through the end of June.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2024
USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
During some of the 2020 protest marches, officers deployed a crowd control tactic known as kettling against peaceful protesters, corralling them in tight spaces and attacking them with batons and pepper spray before making mass arrests.
—Jake Offenhartz, Fortune, 20 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for kettle 
Noun
Success requires pouring the water into the kettle, turning it on, then pouring the hot water into the mug, and placing a tea-bag inside it.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2024
Everything in the store — grilling kits, espresso machines, tea kettles, baking sheets, paring knives and much more — is marked down between 20% and 70% off through the end of June.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2024
Verb
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
During some of the 2020 protest marches, officers deployed a crowd control tactic known as kettling against peaceful protesters, corralling them in tight spaces and attacking them with batons and pepper spray before making mass arrests.
—Jake Offenhartz, Fortune, 20 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for kettle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kettle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Kettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kettle. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
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