spoon

American  

[spoon] / spun /

noun

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)

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)

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

• spoonless
  adjective
• spoonlike
  adjective

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

“I will go out there with my metal pan and my metal spoon and I will bang the drums in joy,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026

Constitution and that if you try to stir some soup with a spoon made of the element gallium, the spoon will disappear into the bowl—all thanks to my troubles with sleep.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Here, I like creamy, whole-fat; the kind that holds its shape on a spoon.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

The finished sauce should ribbon off a spoon in a soft cascade.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

“Only one spoon of marmalade this time, if you please.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin