ladle

[ leyd-l ]

/ ˈleɪd l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ladle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

verb (used with object), la·dled, la·dling.

to dip or convey with or as if with a ladle: to ladle soup into bowls.

RELATED WORDS

dipper, spoon

Nearby words

Origin of ladle

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

Related formsla·dler, nounun·la·dled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ladle

Take a long, deep whiff of that aroma and ladle it over your warm fettuccine.
How to Cook 'Ghetto Gourmet'|The Daily Beast|December 8, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The highlight of my trip was getting to know the iconic woman whom Time once dubbed “Our Lady of the Ladle.”
She Taught Me to Cook—and Called Me a Klutz|Sandra McElwaine|August 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She brought the ladle over the rim of the sieve and lowered it until it all but touched the middle of the web.
The Unwilling Vestal|Edward Lucas White
Peterson swished the ladle through the buckets containing Sally's milk.
Make Mine Homogenized|Rick Raphael

The palace, says the Mahawanso, was provided with rich carpets and couches, and "even the ladle of the rice boiler was of gold."
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1 (of 2)|James Emerson Tennent
In the grave which contained the square medicine bowl shown in plate cxxviii, a, a ladle containing food was also unearthed.
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895|Jesse Walter Fewkes
At the first stands the smelter, who with a ladle pours the alloy out of the forehearth into the moulds.
De Re Metallica|Georgius Agricola

British Dictionary definitions for ladle

ladle

/ (ˈleɪdəl) /

noun

a long-handled spoon having a deep bowl for serving or transferring liquidsa soup ladle

a large bucket-shaped container for transferring molten metal

verb

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

Derived Formsladleful, noun

Word Origin for ladle

Old English hlædel, from hladan to draw out

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ladle

ladle

"large, long-handled spoon for drawing liquids," Old English hlædel "ladle," from hladan "to load" (see lade) + -le, suffix expressing "appliance, tool" (cf. shovel, handle, thimble). The verb is first recorded 1520s, from the noun. Related: Ladled; ladling.