utensil

American  

[yoo-ten-suhl] / juˈtɛn səl /

noun

• utensils
  plural

1. any of the instruments or vessels commonly used in a kitchen, dairy, etc..

   eating utensils; baking utensils.

2. any instrument, vessel, or tool serving a useful purpose.

   smoking utensils; fishing utensils; farming utensils.

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utensil British  

/ juːˈtɛnsəl /

noun

1. an implement, tool, or container for practical use

   writing utensils

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Usage

What are other ways to say utensil? A utensil refers to any instrument or vessel serving a useful purpose, especially those commonly used in a kitchen. When should you use this noun over tool, instrument, or implement? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• utensils
  plural

Etymology

Origin of utensil

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English (collective singular): “household articles,” from Middle French utensile, from Latin ūtēnsilia, neuter plural of ūtēnsilis “useful,” derivative of ūtī “to use”; see origin at use

Explanation

A utensil is a tool you can hold in your hand and use around the house. In the kitchen, common utensils are the knives, forks, and spoons that we hold in our hands and use to eat. The word utensil comes from the Latin utensilia meaning "things for use." A pen is a writing utensil. A spatula is a cooking utensil. A scrub brush is a cleaning utensil. A knife is a cutting utensil. All of these objects can be held in your hand and are used to get something done.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

utensil utensils

Watching them is like being spoonfed by the streamer’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, who, by pioneering this content model, is waving a utensil in front of us like an airplane coming in for a landing.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026

In fall 2024, many of us were ridding our kitchens of a very common utensil, thanks to a piece in the Atlantic that instructed us to, “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula.”

From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2026

Named zeug after the German word for “stuff,” the utensil is a mediator for the intimacy of the hand-to-mouth gesture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2024

The mouth tracking method -- trained on thousands of images featuring various participants' head poses and facial expressions -- combines data from two cameras positioned above and below the utensil.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2024

As Mom shoved the papers back into her bag, I opened the utensil drawer and pulled out a butter knife.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

Along with furniture, clothing and religious statuary, kitchen utensils, Le Creuset pans and cigarette lighters are on offer.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Running around, shouting, making noise with utensils, etc.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

All her kitchen gadgets and utensils are from the chain as are her pots, pans, bedding and towels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

We can barely cram in all their things—the red velvet furniture and lamps and clothes and kitchen utensils and crocheted doilies.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Related Words

• appliance
• equipment
• fork
• gadget
• instrument
• knife
• silverware
• tableware
• ware