spoon-feed
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to feed with a spoon
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to overindulge or spoil
-
to provide (a person) with ready-made opinions, judgments, etc, depriving him of original thought or action
Etymology
Origin of spoon-feed
First recorded in 1605–15
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.
Staff started out by wearing bear masks and animal furs, then crawling into the enclosure to spoon-feed the cubs formula.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
He was not going to spoon-feed that to us.
From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2023
"I wanted someone to spoon-feed me information in a format that was easy."
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2021
Then I would imprison him in his highchair and spoon-feed him, eager to witness gastronomic revelation — the earthy sweetness of yams tinged with maple syrup, the vegetal pleasure of buttery broccoli.
From Washington Post • Jan. 24, 2020
We must spoon-feed it, and nice nights that will give me!
From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 430 Volume 17, New Series, March 27, 1852 by Chambers, William
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.
