frying pan

American  

Also fry-pan,

noun

1. a shallow, long-handled pan in which food is fried.

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idioms

1. out of the frying pan into the fire, free of one predicament but immediately in a worse one.

frying pan British  

noun

1. a long-handled shallow pan used for frying

2. from a bad situation to a worse one

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Etymology

Origin of frying pan

1350–1400; Middle English fryinge panne

Compare meaning

How does frying-pan compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• saucepan vs. frying pan

Example Sentences

Yet the country may be launching out of the frying pan and into the fire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

Inside Dorothy’s Kansan house, a once-shadowed frying pan on the wall now dangles front and center, as does a digitally added “Home Sweet Home” needlepoint nailed to the threshold.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

Now imagine instead of a frying pan, it was the floor beneath you.

From Slate • Aug. 27, 2024

There are drones on every surface, next to a frying pan with their evening meal.

From BBC • Jul. 24, 2024

“Well, he transferred himself right out of the frying pan and into a fire, didn’t he? Why go to the mountain if he was just going to attack it next? It makes no sense.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• wok