What does skillet mean?
A skillet is a broad, shallow cooking pan with relatively straight sides and a long handle. It is particularly useful for frying, browning, searing, and sautéing food, because its shape allows ingredients to cook quickly and makes transferring them comparatively easy. In North American English, skillet is a familiar synonym for frying pan, and cast-iron skillets are especially associated with crisping, browning, and even cooking at high temperatures. The word is also used in British English, where it may refer to a small saucepan or, in some contexts, to a frying pan. Although skillet and pan overlap in meaning, skillet tends to suggest a more substantial, broad-bottomed vessel. It is especially common in recipes and culinary instruction, while frying pan remains the more general term used in both formal and everyday speech.
A broad, shallow frying pan, typically with relatively straight sides and a long handle, used for frying, browning, and sautéing food.
"Add the chicken to the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned."
Chiefly common in North American English, though the word is also used in British English, where it may denote a small saucepan or a frying pan depending on context.
In some British usage, a small saucepan or similar small cooking vessel.
"Warm the milk in a small skillet over low heat."
This sense is regionally associated with British English and is less common than the North American frying-pan sense.
The plural is regular and takes the suffix -s.
"She seasoned the skillets before placing them on the stove."
Skillet once referred to a small cooking vessel long before it became the familiar North American name for a broad frying pan.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does skillet come from?
Skillet is attested in Middle English as the name of a small cooking vessel. Its historical sense was broader than the modern one, and the word developed in English to refer specifically to a shallow pan used for frying. The modern North American association with frying pans is especially strong, although British usage has continued in somewhat different forms.
How skillet is actually used
In North American English, skillet is a common and often preferred term for a frying pan, while pan is also widely used. In British English, skillet is less common and may refer to a small saucepan or to a frying pan, depending on context.
Easily confused with skillet
A skillet is generally a broad, shallow pan with sloping or straight sides, whereas a saucepan is deeper and has more upright sides.