tablespoonful

American  

[tey-buhl-spoon-fool] / ˈteɪ bəl spunˌfʊl /

noun

plural

tablespoonfuls

1. the amount a tablespoon can hold.

2. a volumetric measure equal to ½ fluid ounce (14.8 milliliters), or three teaspoonfuls. T., tbs., tbsp.

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Spelling

See -ful.

Etymology

Origin of tablespoonful

First recorded in 1765–75; tablespoon + -ful

Example Sentences

Spoon in the batter by the tablespoonful, and cook for about 2 minutes until browned and crisp on the bottom.

From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2023

On the center of each dough circle, add a heaping tablespoonful of the potato filling.

From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2022

It was named the Milk River by the explorer Meriwether Lewis who described it as the “color of a cup of tea with the admixture of a tablespoonful of milk,” the result of suspended sediment.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2020

Take one tablespoonful at a time and roll it into a ball.

From The Guardian • Apr. 15, 2020

Quarter of a cake of chocolate grated, 1⁄2 cup of sweet milk, 1 tablespoonful corn-starch; flavor with extract of vanilla.

From Clayton's Quaker Cook-Book Being a Practical Treatise on the Culinary Art Adapted to the Tastes and Wants of all Classes by Clayton, H. J.