Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for spoonful. Search instead for spoonfuls.
Synonyms

spoonful

American  
[spoon-fool] / ˈspun fʊl /

noun

plural

spoonfuls

  1. as much as a spoon can hold.

  2. a small quantity.

spoonful British  
/ ˈspuːnˌfʊl /

noun

  1. the amount that a spoon is able to hold

  2. a small quantity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of spoonful

First recorded in 1250–1300, spoonful is from the Middle English word sponeful. See spoon, -ful

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.

Stir a spoonful into hot pasta with a splash of pasta water and grated parmesan, and you get something creamy and cohesive in seconds.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

A spoonful should hold together — but only just.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

A pat of butter melting into everything, a scatter of cheese, a cool spoonful of sour cream.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

Secret ingredient number one: a spoonful of dried mushroom gravy mix.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

By the back door was a pail of clean snow, and sometimes Grandma took a spoonful of syrup from the kettle and poured it on some of the snow in a saucer.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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.