ladle

American  

[layd-l] / ˈleɪd l /

noun

• ladles
  plural

1. a long-handled utensil with a cup-shaped bowl for dipping or conveying liquids.

2. Metallurgy. a bucketlike, refractory-lined container for transferring molten metal.

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verb (used with object)

• ladles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ladled,
  past participle,  past
• ladling
  present participle

1. to dip or convey with or as if with a ladle.

   to ladle soup into bowls.

ladle British  

/ ˈleɪdəl /

noun

1. a long-handled spoon having a deep bowl for serving or transferring liquids

   a soup ladle

2. a large bucket-shaped container for transferring molten metal

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verb

1. (tr) to lift or serve out with or as if with a ladle

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ladleful
  noun
• ladler
  noun
• unladled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ladles
  plural

Participles

• ladling
  present
• ladled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ladle
  simple
• ladles
  simple
• have ladled
  perfect
• has ladled
  perfect
• am ladling
  progressive
• are ladling
  progressive
• is ladling
  progressive
• have been ladling
  perfect progressive
• has been ladling
  perfect progressive

Past

• ladled
  simple
• had ladled
  perfect
• was ladling
  progressive
• were ladling
  progressive
• had been ladling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ladle
  simple
• will have ladled
  perfect
• will be ladling
  progressive
• will have been ladling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of ladle

before 1000; Middle English ladel, Old English hlædel. See lade, -le

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Explanation

A ladle is a large spoon with a deep bowl for scooping and serving soup and other liquids. If you make clam chowder, it might be messy to serve it without using a ladle. The serving implement is called a ladle, and you can also use this word as a verb: "Will you ladle some of that tomato soup into my bowl?" The Old English version was hlædel, from hladan, "to load," plus the "tool" suffix -le (like in thimble or handle).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ladle ladles ladled ladling

You cannot bail out the Titanic with a soup ladle.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

At the annual championships in Groningen, amateur and professional chefs from the Netherlands and beyond compete for the top prize in both categories -- a coveted silver ladle.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

The movie purports to dip into the deep well of Shakespearean magnificence but emerges only with a ladle full of greasy schmaltz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

Desperate, I grabbed a plastic ladle from the kitchen to change the mojo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025

When the fish stew arrived, I suggested to Mandy that she give him an extra ladle.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Here in Chicago, every coffee shop worth its salt now ladles out some steaming permutation of oat mush with a swirl of tahini or jam, SQIRL-style.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025

Kristofferson never sounded more like Leonard Cohen than he did here, rhapsodizing in a parched croon about a woman’s redeeming devotion as producer Fred Foster ladles on just the right amount of easy-listening schmaltz.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024

Lava-like liquid oozes from the base of the furnace as soot-coated men in hooded reflective suits, thick gloves and protective visors steer the candescent flow with ladles the length of spears.

From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023

The cover of Vishwesh Bhatt’s new cookbook is a still-life photograph: Jars of black-eyed peas stand near silver ladles tinged with patina, and next to them, collard leaves fan out and over.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022

Dinner plates, dessert dishes, creamers, skewers, candlesticks, butter dishes, forks, spoons, teapots, trays, platters, ladles, tureens—the long table was covered end-to-end with treasure.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood

Many remain convinced a tsunami could yet strike, he said, as government aid workers ladled rice porridge into bowls for the evacuees.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

President ladled his usual flattery on Mr. Xi as a “great” and “powerful” leader, and said the two are now fast friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Once ladled into low bowls, each serving got a single glossy egg yolk and a small drift of fresh lemon zest.

From Salon ● May 12, 2026

Then they ladled the liquid into small cups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025

Mrs. Hathaway ladled quick spoons of soup into their bowls.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

A few metres away, his mother Beatrice was busy ladling out and flipping crepes spread from brim to brim with a generous layer of chocolate-hazelnut spread.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Before serving, cover and turn off the heat and allow to rest a bit before reheating to desired temperature before ladling into bowls.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2024

The women, ladling out stew and potatoes with frozen hands, scoffed at the idea that the police could stop the crossings.

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023

In the town of Staryi Saltiv, women were ladling out soup into containers for a line of townspeople as other volunteers ran a generator for people to charge their cellphones.

From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

A short time later, he lugs a great cauldron into the room and begins ladling soup into cracked earthenware bowls.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

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