kettle

C1 · Advanced Countable noun British English

n. a situation where police surround a group of protesters to keep them in one place.

n. a police tactic or the resulting formation where a large crowd is confined within a cordoned area.

“The protesters were stuck in a police kettle for several hours without water.”

“Civil liberties groups criticised the use of the kettle, arguing that detaining peaceful demonstrators for hours was a violation of their rights.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Science Technical

n. a bowl-shaped hole in the ground formed by melting ice from a glacier.

n. a depression in a glacial outwash drift made by the melting of a detached mass of glacial ice.

“The park is famous for its deep kettle lakes formed thousands of years ago.”

“The landscape is dotted with kettles and kames, providing clear evidence of the retreating ice sheet during the last glacial period.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Technical

n. a group of large birds, like hawks, flying together in a circle.

n. a collective noun for a group of raptors circling in a thermal, typically observed during migration.

“We looked up and saw a kettle of hawks rising high on the warm air.”

“Birdwatchers gathered at the ridge to witness a massive kettle of broad-winged hawks gaining altitude before continuing their southward journey.”

C1 · Advanced Law British English

v. when police surround a group of people to stop them from moving or leaving.

v. to confine a group of demonstrators or protesters within a limited area as a method of crowd control.

“The police decided to kettle the marchers at the end of the street.”

“The decision to kettle the crowd was met with significant resistance, leading to a tense standoff between the officers and the trapped activists.”