skillet
Americannoun
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a frying pan.
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a cylindrical serving vessel of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, having a hinged lid, a handle, and, sometimes, feet.
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Chiefly British. a long-handled saucepan.
noun
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a small frying pan
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a saucepan
Etymology
Origin of skillet
1375–1425; late Middle English; origin uncertain
Explanation
A skillet is a round pan that you use to cook things on the stove. Use your skillet to cook bacon and eggs, NOT as a weapon. You can also call a skillet a "frying pan," and in many parts of the English-speaking world, that's what they do. Skillets are primarily used for frying food, but you can also sauté, sear, brown, or scramble in a skillet. In Britain, a skillet is an old-fashioned type of cooking pot with legs. Experts think the word comes from the Middle French esculette, "a little dish," from the Latin root scutella, "serving platter."
Vocabulary lists containing skillet
Pestle, Sieve, and Whisk: Useful Words for Cooking Tools
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Shiloh
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I usually get a skillet or an omelet, then combine that with a waffle.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025
The catch: Those multiple layers can easily double or triple the price of a basic carbon-steel skillet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
Last month, a local resident posted a video on Nextdoor of a skillet filled on top of a makeshift fire pit among the brush in Legacy Park.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025
Reach for a rotisserie chicken or sauté fresh cubes in your skillet so you get those savory browned bits that make a cream sauce sing.
From Salon • Sep. 23, 2025
The essentials appeared to be present: stove, coffeepot, bread pans, skillet, and such, plus a few rough and splintery shelves for storage.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
