spatula

American  

[spach-uh-luh] / ˈspætʃ ə lə /

noun

1. an implement with a broad, flat, usually flexible blade, used for blending foods or removing them from cooking utensils, mixing drugs, spreading plasters and paints, etc.

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spatula British  

/ ˈspætjʊlə /

noun

1. a utensil with a broad flat, often flexible blade, used for lifting, spreading, or stirring foods, etc

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Other Word Forms

• spatular adjective

Etymology

Origin of spatula

1515–25; < Latin: a flat piece, batten, equivalent to spath ( a ) spathe + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

Zara places the still-warm dish on a trivet on the table, and uses a spatula to lift three pieces from the pan, depositing them on plates for each of us.

From Literature

The spatula that warped when it got left in the oven?

From Salon

She grabbed her metal spatula and waved it at me.

From Literature

Norway’s Sven Seljom, a burly 57, described how he uses black Norwegian oats and prefers to use a spatula, to a chorus of boos.

From The Wall Street Journal

For Mr. Fatsis, the dictionary is an item “as ubiquitous as a spatula” and as likely to be gathering dust but, in his experience, both deeply serious in purpose and endlessly diverting.

From The Wall Street Journal