- past tense form of spoon-feed.
- past participle of spoon-feed.
spoon-fed
Americanadjective
-
fed with a spoon.
-
treated with excessive solicitude; pampered.
-
given no opportunity to act or think for oneself.
Having always been spoon-fed, I couldn't meet the challenge of college.
Etymology
Origin of spoon-fed
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Surely, the viewer can put two and two together on their own to decipher a deeper meaning within the text without the message being spoon-fed to them.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2025
Some of them have been feeding on spoon-fed pap by the rich and powerful for so long that — as A.J.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
"I spoon-fed the police," she explains with exasperation as she shows us print-outs of text messages and voicemails.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
At a scoop shop in downtown Manhattan, a large white poodle was spoon-fed what appeared to be vanilla ice cream.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
The blond-haired girl who’d spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
