spoon

American  

[spoon] / spun /

noun

• spoons
  plural

1. a utensil for use in eating, stirring, measuring, ladling, etc., consisting of a small, shallow bowl with a handle.

2. any of various implements, objects, or parts resembling or suggesting this.

3. a spoonful.

4. Also called spoon bait.  Angling. a lure used in casting or trolling for fish, consisting of a bright spoon-shaped piece of metal or the like, swiveled above one or more fishhooks, and revolving as it is drawn through the water.

5. Also called number three wood.  Golf. a club with a wooden head whose face has a greater slope than the brassie or driver, for hitting long, high drives from the fairway.

6. a curved piece projecting from the top of a torpedo tube to guide the torpedo horizontally and prevent it from striking the side of the ship from which it was fired.

7. (inspoon theory ) a unit of energy that, once used, must be replenished before becoming available again.

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verb (used with object)

• spoons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spooned,
  past participle,  past
• spooning
  present participle

1. to eat with, take up, or transfer in or as in a spoon.

2. to hollow out or shape like a spoon.

3. Games.

   1. to push or shove (a ball) with a lifting motion instead of striking it soundly, as in croquet or golf.

   2. to hit (a ball) up in the air, as in cricket.

4. Informal. to nestle in close contact with (another), as when both are lying on their sides with their knees drawn up, the back of one person tucked into the front of the other like the bowls of two spoons.

   He moved over and spooned her, pressing himself gently against her warm back as she slept.

5. Informal: Older Use. to show affection or love toward (someone) by kissing and caressing, especially in an openly sentimental manner.

verb (used without object)

• spoons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spooned,
  past participle,  past
• spooning
  present participle

1. Informal. (of two people) to nestle in close contact with one another, as when both are lying on their sides with their knees drawn up, the back of one person tucked into the front of the other like the bowls of two spoons.

   They spooned without shifting position the whole night through.

2. Informal: Older Use. to show affection or love by kissing and caressing, especially in an openly sentimental manner.

3. Games. to spoon a ball.

4. Angling. to fish with a spoon.

idioms

1. born with a silver spoon in one's mouth, born into a wealthy family; having an inherited fortune.

   She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and never worked a day in her life.

spoon British  

/ spuːn /

noun

1. a metal, wooden, or plastic utensil having a shallow concave part, usually elliptical in shape, attached to a handle, used in eating or serving food, stirring, etc

2. Also called: spoonbait.  an angling lure for spinning or trolling, consisting of a bright piece of metal which swivels on a trace to which are attached a hook or hooks

3. golf a former name for a No. 3 wood

4. informal a foolish or useless person

5. another name for booby prize

6. rowing a type of oar blade that is curved at the edges and tip to gain a firm grip on the water Compare spade 1

7. to inherit wealth or social standing

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verb

1. (tr) to scoop up or transfer (food, liquid, etc) from one container to another with or as if with a spoon

2. slang (intr) to kiss and cuddle

3. to hollow out (a cavity or spoon-shaped bowl) (in something)

4. sport to hit (a ball) with a weak lifting motion, as in golf, cricket, etc

spoon More Idioms  

1. see born with a silver spoon; greasy spoon.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spoonless
  adjective
• spoonlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spoons
  plural

Participles

• spooning
  present
• spooned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spoon
  simple
• spoons
  simple
• have spooned
  perfect
• has spooned
  perfect
• am spooning
  progressive
• are spooning
  progressive
• is spooning
  progressive
• have been spooning
  perfect progressive
• has been spooning
  perfect progressive

Past

• spooned
  simple
• had spooned
  perfect
• was spooning
  progressive
• were spooning
  progressive
• had been spooning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spoon
  simple
• will have spooned
  perfect
• will be spooning
  progressive
• will have been spooning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spoon

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English spōn; cognate with Low German spon, German Span “chip,” Old Norse spōnn; akin to Greek sphḗn “wedge”

Explanation

If it's not a fork or a knife, it’s probably a spoon. The curviest utensil in the drawer, a spoon is good for scooping soup, ice cream, or anything else that might fall through the slats on a fork. The small bowl-like end of a spoon is ideal for scooping and holding small amounts of soft or liquid foods. You couldn't eat your soup with a fork, and it would be challenging to get pudding into your mouth without a spoon. You can use spoon as a verb, too: "I watched her spoon cereal into her mouth while she watched cartoons." It also means "to lie together cuddled like two spoons."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spoon spoons spooned spooning

Those cramped containers weren’t conducive to a spoon, says Hollid-Ausset.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Emmanuel’s sister, who was placed in foster care after his death in August 2025, was significantly behind developmentally, unable to speak or use a spoon, the lawsuit alleges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

You could spoon it on instead, of course, but piping the ricotta creates exactly the kind of unnecessary flourish brunch deserves.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

It is best known for its unusually low melting point, which allows a gallium spoon to melt in a cup of hot tea.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Spoon after spoon the samples came, and they were all for Cat.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

His custom-built cutlery bins, meanwhile, are exactly proportional to the length of his spoons and knives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

As the sun sank, neighbors began banging spoons on metal pots from inside their homes, the subtle but unmistakable clank of government protests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2026

But here’s the thing: there are nights when you don’t have the spoons to deal with a knife.

From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026

Ivorian schoolchildren crowd around masks, finely carved turtles, and ceremonial spoons once admired by visitors of Zurich's Rietberg Museum.

From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026

With the sun dying at our backs, Joon and I knelt down with our spoons and started to dig.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

They stood and screamed as one as Auger-Aliassime spooned a backhand long to confirm Djokovic's victory.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Coconut milk, chickpeas and sweet potatoes become a quick curry spooned over rice and showered with scallions.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

The first night, I topped bowls with avocado and sour cream; the second, I spooned leftovers over white rice with shredded cabbage and green onion left over from another dinner earlier in the week.

From Salon ● May 19, 2026

Whisked egg yolks and sugar get spooned on top, like a frothy, golden ambrosia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

She sat down across the table and spooned porridge into a bowl.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

New England-style lobster rolls weren’t always so plentiful in Los Angeles, and Connie & Ted’s offered some of the best and most consistent, spooning lobster shipped fresh from Gloucester, Mass., onto fluffy, griddled rolls.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

Don’t start spooning up coleslaw because you think it’ll stop you from getting cancer.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025

Now that the show's wedding episodes have aired, one can't help wondering if the show’s producers were spooning out a bit of foreshadowing.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2024

It felt perfectly complete to reach back into the fridge, take out the strained yogurt and balance out the dish by spooning some on top.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024

Bucky bent over his bowl, spooning down oatmeal faster than I’ve ever seen anyone eat.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon