Potion

A potion (or just pot) is an item that a character can drink that will apply an effect to the imbiber. Potions can be created by characters with the alchemy profession, available as drops or from vendors. Elixirs provide stat improvements while potions provide other effects. Potions used to restore health and/or mana have a base crit chance which increases its utility by 50%. As of Patch 3.0.2, potions now have reduced cooldown of 1 minute. This cooldown does not begin until a player is outside of combat, meaning that if he/she takes a potion during a fight, the cooldown will not start until the fight is over. Some players will work around this mechanic by "pre-potting", using a potion such as Potion of Speed immediately before a boss is pulled and combat begins so that they will be able to use another potion during the fight.

Additional info:
 * Elixir - Similar to potions with differing effects that have mostly longer durations.
 * Flask - A more powerful type of elixir in which effects persist through death.

Potions in Warcraft III and the RPG
The following potions do not appear in World of Warcraft, but do appear in Warcraft III, Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, or both.