scoop

American  

[skoop] / skup /

noun

• scoops
  plural

1. a ladle or ladlelike utensil, especially a small, deep-sided shovel with a short, horizontal handle, for taking up flour, sugar, etc.

2. a utensil composed of a palm-sized hollow hemisphere attached to a horizontal handle, for dishing out ice cream or other soft foods.

3. a hemispherical portion of food as dished out by such a utensil.

   two scoops of chocolate ice cream.

4. the bucket of a dredge, steam shovel, etc.

5. Surgery. a spoonlike apparatus for removing substances or foreign objects from the body.

6. a hollow or hollowed-out place.

7. the act of ladling, dipping, dredging, etc.

8. the quantity held in a ladle, dipper, shovel, bucket, etc.

9. Journalism. a news item, report, or story first revealed in one paper, magazine, newscast, etc.; beat.

10. Informal. news, information, or details, especially as obtained from experience or an immediate source.

    What's the scoop on working this machine?

11. a gathering to oneself or lifting with the arms or hands.

12. Informal. a big haul, as of money.

13. Television, Movies. a single large floodlight shaped like a flour scoop.

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verb (used with object)

• scoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scooped,
  past participle,  past
• scooping
  present participle

1. to take up or out with or as if with a scoop.

2. to empty with a scoop.

3. to form a hollow or hollows in.

4. to form with or as if with a scoop.

5. to get the better of (other publications, newscasters, etc.) by obtaining and publishing or broadcasting a news item, report, or story first.

   They scooped all the other dailies with the story of the election fraud.

6. to gather up or to oneself or to put hastily by a sweeping motion of one's arms or hands.

   He scooped the money into his pocket.

verb (used without object)

• scoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scooped,
  past participle,  past
• scooping
  present participle

1. to remove or gather something with or as if with a scoop.

   to scoop with a ridiculously small shovel.

scoop British  

/ skuːp /

noun

1. a utensil used as a shovel or ladle, esp a small shovel with deep sides and a short handle, used for taking up flour, corn, etc

2. a utensil with a long handle and round bowl used for dispensing liquids

3. a utensil with a round bowl and short handle, sometimes with a mechanical device to empty the bowl, for serving ice cream or mashed potato

4. anything that resembles a scoop in action, such as the bucket on a dredge

5. a spoonlike surgical instrument for scraping or extracting foreign matter, etc, from the body

6. the quantity taken up by a scoop

7. the act of scooping, dredging, etc

8. a hollow cavity

9. slang a large quick gain, as of money

10. a news story reported in one newspaper before all the others; an exclusive

11. any sensational piece of news

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to take up and remove (an object or substance) with or as if with a scoop

2. (often foll by out) to hollow out with or as if with a scoop

   to scoop a hole in a hillside

3. to win (a prize, award, or large amount of money)

4. to beat (rival newspapers) in uncovering a news item

5. sport to hit (the ball) on its underside so that it rises into the air

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scooper
  noun
• scoopful
  noun
• underscoop
  noun
• outscoop
  verb (used with object)
• underscoop
  verb (used with object)
• unscooped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scoops
  plural

Participles

• scooping
  present
• scooped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scoop
  simple
• scoops
  simple
• have scooped
  perfect
• has scooped
  perfect
• am scooping
  progressive
• are scooping
  progressive
• is scooping
  progressive
• have been scooping
  perfect progressive
• has been scooping
  perfect progressive

Past

• scooped
  simple
• had scooped
  perfect
• was scooping
  progressive
• were scooping
  progressive
• had been scooping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scoop
  simple
• will have scooped
  perfect
• will be scooping
  progressive
• will have been scooping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scoop

1300–50; (noun) Middle English scope < Middle Dutch schōpe; (v.) Middle English scopen, derivative of the noun

Explanation

Most people think of ice cream when they think of the noun scoop, but journalists who get a story before others also get a scoop, and dog owners need to scoop up after their dogs or else they will get a ticket for littering. When a newspaper reporter gets a scoop, it means they beat every other reporter to publish an important story. Other meanings of scoop come from the shape and motion of a scoop, which is hollowed out and looks kind of like a pocket. Also, if you pick up a little dog into your arms, you might say you scooped it up. Scoop is one of many words that can be a noun and a verb, even in the same sentence: when you go to an ice cream shop you can ask your server to give you one, two, or three scoops.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scoop scoops scooped scooping

"We have ham, pickled garlic, tahini, and stinky tofu and liquor. Just below my office is a shop whose speciality is vodka, foie gras and apple in one scoop," says Yan.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Investors who scoop up shares before a company’s IPO face lockup rules and can’t sell for a period of time, often several months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

A scoop of popcorn is now $7, up from $6.50.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

You might try to scoop up a bargain or avoid certain headaches by purchasing a newly constructed house.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

Being president of the art club doesn’t carry a lot of cred, so when I’ve got some inside scoop, I’m going to wake the town and tell the people.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

London City Lionesses have signed two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas on a three-year deal in one of the biggest scoops in women's football history.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Once they’ve reached their capacity of about 20,000 pounds, a boat hauls everything to the harbor and a crane scoops it out in nets.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

Similar activity allegedly preceded subsequent Axios scoops on April 17 and May 1.

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

As TV producers jockeyed for scoops and access, prosecutors in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, in Fort Worth, were faced with another task.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

He scoops up a pile of kindling and drops it in my empty arms, returning me to myself.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Microsoft has steadily scooped up specialized, midsized cyber companies over the past decade, while Google made the largest acquisition in its history by purchasing AI cloud and security platform Wiz earlier this year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026

Sherwin-Williams SHW 3.07%increase; up pointing triangle raised its outlook for the year after logging higher profit and sales in the second quarter, as the company scooped up market share and raised prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Crews scooped out a pair of tunnels, reinforcing walls as they advanced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Serve piled onto tostadas, scooped up with tortilla chips or spooned over rice.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

Mom has already scooped servings of pasta and clams into four bowls, each garnished with sprinkles of parsley and squeezes of lemon.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

She remembers scooping up what remained of her artwork and watching it sift through her fingers, the porcelain broken and changed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

In Josephson’s phrase he “roved through the West eyeing the ruined hulks of transcontinental railroads,” scooping up the “rich debris.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Two Canadair planes joined the battle on Monday, scooping up water from the River Seine to douse the flames.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Now it doesn’t really have any exclusive or defining titles, yet Microsoft spent billions scooping up IPs with nothing to show for it.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

He liked to watch as the birds swooped back and forth, scooping up crickets and dropping them into the gaping mouths of their chicks.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

Related Words

• clear away
• dig
• dig out
• gouge
• lift
• pick up
• remove
• scrape