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pot

pot

2 8.4
A small control used to change volume or brightness in electronic devices
  • noun
  • /pɑt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : potenciómetro
  • And in fact, when I turn the pot, the motor moves.

Examples

  • And there's the gain and offset pots for each axis and the wires going into the board here.

  • The engineer calibrated the pot to adjust the volume on the radio.

  • The overheating has melted the pressure pot.

  • Same circuit, except we used a 10k digital pot and a few other little bits to adjust the pot up and down, depending on position in the wave.

    Blog text (18)
  • The circuit I chose included a variable delay that did not prove satisfactory (note the two pots in Figure 4).

    Academic text (1994)
  • It has an integral power supply for direct online operation, incorporates comprehensive fault detection, and requires no tuning of pots, jumpers, DIP switches, or personality modules.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Adjust the pot carefully to ensure the circuits work correctly.

  • Using a multimeter, she measured the resistance of the pot in the circuit.

Synonyms

potentiometer
vspot
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A small electrical device with a knob that changes voltage in a circuit

is the shortened informal form of the same technical name

Idioms

to stir the pot
  • Informal
8 8.0

To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue

to go to pot
  • Informal
3 8.2

To become ruined or not cared for

1 7.2

To make people stay interested and active in a project

To say someone has a fault you also have

1 9.9

Tell someone in a rude way to decide now or stop wasting time

9.3

A person who slowly fails to notice danger until it is too late

Compounds

22 2.4

A large piece of beef slow cooked in liquid in a covered pot with vegetables like carrots and potatoes

melting pot
  • Informal
17 3.5

A place where people from different cultures mix and become one community

7 3.5

An electric pot that cooks food slowly at low heat

pot of gold
  • Informal
5 4.1

A reward that someone hopes to get but finds hard to reach

3 3.5

An amount of money saved or collected for a purpose

pot farm
  • NSFW
1 8.1

A place where people often secretly grow marijuana

1 2.8

A green plant people grow in a pot indoors to make a room look nicer

hot pot
  • UK
1 2.7

A stew of meat and potatoes cooked slowly in a covered pot

1 3.2

An electric pot that cooks food slowly for several hours

1 3.5

A basket placed in the sea to catch lobsters

1 4.6

A container made of strong heatproof material to make metal liquid

1 7.9

Liquid left in a pot after cooking vegetables or meat that is used as a base for soup

1 1.3

A container with a handle and a spout used to sprinkle water on plants

3.4

A dish cooked slowly in a slow cooker

dash-pot
  • Specialized
9.6

A device with a piston that moves through liquid or air to slow sudden movement in machines

3.5

A coffee pot that makes coffee by letting hot water slowly pass through ground coffee

refractory pot
  • Specialized
9.9

A small heatproof bowl made of bone ash to separate metals like gold or silver during testing

1.4

A small container with holes for sprinkling pepper onto food

7.2

A thick spicy soup with vegetables and cow stomach often served with dumplings

A spicy soup with cow tripe, vegetables, and pepper often with dumplings

9.9

A long feeling of being sorry for yourself and thinking only about your problems

7.0

A mild soft white cheese that comes from milk curds, often used as a spread or in cooking

pot furnace
  • Specialized
8.0

A large oven with several pots for melting glass

9.9

A tasty liquid left in a pot after cooking vegetables or meat

A common garden plant with bright yellow or orange flowers

A small aromatic garden herb used to flavor food like tomato sauce

pot metal
  • Specialized
7.9

Cheap mix of metals used to make low-cost items like pots

A French stew of beef and vegetables slowly cooked in water or broth

pot-girl
  • Archaic
9.9

A woman who works in an inn serving customers and cleaning pots

tin-pot business
  • Offensive
7.5

A small, badly run company that seems unimportant

8.5

A small cruel government that controls people and seems foolish

8.4

An unimportant suggestion that people do not take seriously

tin-pot operation
  • Offensive
7.9

A small badly run business or group that seems unimportant

Surface Forms

pot singular
pots plural

Etymology

In electronics, pot is simply a short form of potentiometer, a small part you turn to change volume or brightness. So technicians call the control a 'pot' because it is an easy, short name for the full device.