ladle

American  

[leyd-l] / ˈleɪd l /

noun

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)

ladled, ladling

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

• ladleful noun
• ladler noun
• unladled adjective

Etymology

Origin of ladle

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

Example Sentences

Mrs. Wigginbottom suddenly dropped her ladle into the stew pot with such a crash, it silenced the group.

From Literature

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

I like anything effervescent and not too sweet, ideally ladled from a punch bowl because punch bowls inherently make adults feel like children in the best possible way.

From Salon

Wordlessly, the seated girls passed their bowls to the end, where the eldest girl ladled in the porridge and passed the bowls back full.

From Literature

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