spoon

[ spoon ]
See synonyms for spoon on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. 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.

  2. Also called num·ber 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.

  3. 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.

  4. (in spoon theory) a unit of energy that, once used, must be replenished before becoming available again.

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.

  1. Games.

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

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

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  1. Games. to spoon a ball.

  2. Angling. to fish with a spoon.

Idioms about spoon

  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.

Origin of spoon

1
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”

Other words from spoon

  • spoon·less, adjective
  • spoon·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spoon in a sentence

  • To the strangers, also, were given the spoons and forks, but the want of them did not appear to incommode the Brazilians.

  • They started out with both knives and two strong iron spoons, and the kettle.

    The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • I asked him once why the Europeans eat with knives and forks, and spoons, instead of with their fingers, which God had given them.

    Confessions of a Thug | Philip Meadows Taylor
  • These they put into a small bag, and mephisto went back through the scullery into the back garden and hid these spoons in a bush.

  • Persian tea-spoons are not as big as English, so perhaps he had not given much more than thirty times the full dose.

    The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram

British Dictionary definitions for spoon

spoon

/ (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

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

  2. informal a foolish or useless person

  3. wooden spoon British another name for booby prize

  4. 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 (def. 4)

  5. be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth to inherit wealth or social standing

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

  2. (intr) slang, old-fashioned to kiss and cuddle

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

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

Origin of spoon

1
Old English spōn splinter; related to Old Norse spōnn spoon, chip, Old High German spān

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with spoon

spoon

see born with a silver spoon; greasy spoon.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.