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Synonyms

born with a silver spoon

Idioms  

  1. Born wealthy, or fortunate, or both, as in Paul can afford to go to medical school; he was born with a silver spoon. Although some authorities believe this phrase alludes to the custom of godparents giving their godchild a silver spoon, affordable only by rich persons, it is more likely that the spoon has come to symbolize wealth. [c. 1700]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tice, who attended the £16,000 per-term Uppingham School, agreed that he was born "with a silver spoon in his mouth".

From BBC • May 16, 2025

"Some red squirrels have the luck of being born into gentler early environments, akin to being born with a silver spoon," Petrullo said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2024

In the informercial, Springer referred to the quote and talked about wanting to reach out to “regular folks … who weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2023

A warm, chatty only child, she wasn't born with a silver spoon — she'd worked since she was three, she proudly proclaimed.

From Salon • Jul. 19, 2022

If Huygens was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Boyle was born with a canteen of cutlery in his.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.