pressure cooker

Meaning

A pressure cooker is an airtight pot that cooks food quickly using steam under high pressure. It is highly valued for reducing cooking times significantly. Metaphorically, the term can also describe a highly stressful environment or situation where people are under intense pressure.

Examples

• The beans cooked in just twenty minutes thanks to the pressure cooker.

  The beans cooked in just twenty minutes thanks to the pressure cooker.

• Be careful when releasing the steam from the pressure cooker so you don't get burned.

  Be careful when releasing the steam from the pressure cooker so you don't get burned.

• Working in that fast-paced startup felt like being in a pressure cooker.

  Working in that fast-paced startup felt like being in a pressure cooker.

• I prefer using a pressure cooker for tough meats because it saves hours of cooking time.

  I prefer using a pressure cooker for tough meats because it saves hours of cooking time.

• My grandmother always swore by her old-fashioned stovetop pressure cooker.

  My grandmother always swore by her old-fashioned stovetop pressure cooker.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I cooked the rice in the press cooker.

  ✓ I cooked the rice in the pressure cooker.

  Learners often use the verb 'press' instead of the noun 'pressure'. The correct term is always 'pressure cooker'.

• ✗ The office is a high pressure cooker.

  ✓ The office is a pressure cooker.

  When using the term metaphorically to mean a stressful environment, you do not need to add 'high'. 'Pressure cooker' already implies intense stress.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Don't open the ___ until all the steam has safely escaped.

  💡 An airtight pot that builds up steam to cook food very fast.

  Show answer

  pressure cooker

• With the final exams coming up, the classroom has turned into a real ___.

  💡 A metaphor for an environment full of intense stress and anxiety.

  Show answer

  pressure cooker