colander

UK/ˈkɒləndə(ɹ)/US/ˈkɑləndɚ/

nounB1+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,642 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: colanders

A colander is the bowl full of holes you empty pasta into over the sink. Drain it in a colander, a metal colander, tip it into the colander.

It is coarser than a sieve, which is the difference between draining and sifting. Warming the colander with the pasta water first is the small trick that stops everything cooling on the way to the plate.

Definitions of colander

1nouncolanderThe bowl full of holes you empty pasta into over the sink.B1+
“Drain the pasta in a colander over the sink.”
- Said"Put the colander in the sink for me; the pasta's nearly done."
- WrittenThe colanders hung from hooks above the range, throwing spots of light on the wall.
- UsedRinse the lentils in a colander under the cold tap until it runs clear.
- ContrastA colander, not a bowl. A bowl keeps everything in; a colander lets the water out and keeps the food. bowl →
- Not thisA sieve is not a colander; its mesh is fine and it sifts. A colander only drains.
- Exchange"Have you seen the colander?""Drying on the rack. Shake it first."
- SimplyThe rice is ready. Put it in the colander.
Patterndrain / tip / pour sth into a colander · a metal / plastic colander · through a colander

colander is a strainer.

Remember it

coLANDer → the pasta LANDs, the water falls through

Tip the pot out: the pasta lands in the bowl like parachutists on a field, and the water falls straight through the holes and away down the sink.

hooks ontoland

Where it comes from

Latin colatorium comes from colare, to strain, from colum, a strainer.

Latin
cōlātōrium
Middle English
colyndore
English, today
colander

From Middle English colyndore, coloundour, colonur, variants of Middle English culdor, culdore, culatre, ultimately from Latin cōlātōrium, from Latin cōlum. Cognates include Italian colino and Spanish colador.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of colander

1nouncolanderThe bowl full of holes you empty pasta into over the sink.B1+

“Drain the pasta in a colander over the sink.”

Said"Put the colander in the sink for me; the pasta's nearly done."
WrittenThe colanders hung from hooks above the range, throwing spots of light on the wall.
UsedRinse the lentils in a colander under the cold tap until it runs clear.
ContrastA colander, not a bowl. A bowl keeps everything in; a colander lets the water out and keeps the food. bowl →
Not thisA sieve is not a colander; its mesh is fine and it sifts. A colander only drains.
Exchange"Have you seen the colander?""Drying on the rack. Shake it first."
SimplyThe rice is ready. Put it in the colander.

Patterndrain / tip / pour sth into a colander · a metal / plastic colander · through a colander

colander is a strainer.