spigot

American  

[spig-uht] / ˈspɪg ət /

noun

1. a small peg or plug for stopping the vent of a cask.

2. a peg or plug for stopping the passage of liquid in a faucet or cock.

3. a faucet or cock for controlling the flow of liquid from a pipe or the like.

4. the end of a pipe that enters the enlarged end of another pipe to form a joint.

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spigot British  

/ ˈspɪɡət /

noun

1. a stopper for the vent hole of a cask

2. a tap, usually of wood, fitted to a cask

3. a US name for tap 2

4. a short cylindrical projection on one component designed to fit into a hole on another, esp the male part of a joint ( spigot and socket joint ) between two pipes

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Regionalisms

See faucet.

Etymology

Origin of spigot

1350–1400; Middle English spigot, perhaps < Old French *espigot < Old Provençal espig ( a ) (< Latin spīca ear of grain; spica ) + Old French -ot diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Without that money spigot, David Ellison’s own ventures look much more perilous.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

At the same time, use of the Fed’s standing repo facility — seen as a liquidity spigot for financial institutions in search of short-term cash to finance their operations — increased in late October.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 22, 2025

Additionally, the OPEC+ campaign to increase production is on track to conclude in 2026, notably tightening the global oil-supply spigot.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

Analysts are scrounging for any signal about the economy’s trajectory this month because the government shutdown has turned off the spigot of official government data.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

I turn the spigot and Ray sprays the garage door and the corner of the garage roof hard for several minutes.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• nozzle
• valve