noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈkɹuː.sɪ.bəl/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K R UW1 S AH0 B AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment used to contain chemical compounds when heating them to very high temperatures.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A heat-resistant container in which metals are melted, usually at temperatures above 500°C, commonly made of graphite with clay as a binder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The bottom and hottest part of a blast furnace; the hearth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A very difficult and trying experience, that acts as a refining or hardening process.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a vessel made of material that does not melt easily; used for high temperature chemical reactions
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: melting pot
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: vessel
History
Etymology
From Latin crucibulum (“night-lamp, metallurgic melting-pot”), apparently a derivative of crux (“cross”), perhaps by analogy to thūribulum (“censer”) and suffix -bulum, or from crucio (“to torment”).
Across languages
Translations
98 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
smeltkroes
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Arabic:
بُوتَقة
(būtaqa)
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Bulgarian:
ти́гел
(tígel)
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Catalan:
gresol
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Chinese Mandarin:
坩堝 /坩埚
(gānguō)
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Czech:
žíhací kelímek
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Czech:
tavicí kelímek
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Czech:
tyglík
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Danish:
smeltedigel
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Dutch:
smeltkroes
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Estonian:
tiigel
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Finnish:
upokas
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
French:
creuset
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
German:
Tiegel
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Greek:
χωνευτήρι
(choneftíri)
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Icelandic:
deigla
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Icelandic:
digull
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Italian:
crogiolo
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
Malay:
mangkuk pijar
— cup-shaped piece of laboratory equipment
