utensil

American  

[yoo-ten-suhl] / juˈtɛn səl /

noun

• utensils
  plural

1. any of the instruments or vessels commonly used in a kitchen, dairy, etc..

   eating utensils; baking utensils.

2. any instrument, vessel, or tool serving a useful purpose.

   smoking utensils; fishing utensils; farming utensils.

---

utensil British  

/ juːˈtɛnsəl /

noun

1. an implement, tool, or container for practical use

   writing utensils

---

Usage

What are other ways to say utensil? A utensil refers to any instrument or vessel serving a useful purpose, especially those commonly used in a kitchen. When should you use this noun over tool, instrument, or implement? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• utensils
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of utensil

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English (collective singular): “household articles,” from Middle French utensile, from Latin ūtēnsilia, neuter plural of ūtēnsilis “useful,” derivative of ūtī “to use”; see origin at use

---

Explanation

A utensil is a tool you can hold in your hand and use around the house. In the kitchen, common utensils are the knives, forks, and spoons that we hold in our hands and use to eat. The word utensil comes from the Latin utensilia meaning "things for use." A pen is a writing utensil. A spatula is a cooking utensil. A scrub brush is a cleaning utensil. A knife is a cutting utensil. All of these objects can be held in your hand and are used to get something done.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

utensil utensils

But later, the task of aligning a small knife into the utensil basket proved to be another challenge.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Watching them is like being spoonfed by the streamer’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, who, by pioneering this content model, is waving a utensil in front of us like an airplane coming in for a landing.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026

In fall 2024, many of us were ridding our kitchens of a very common utensil, thanks to a piece in the Atlantic that instructed us to, “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula.”

From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2026

Cooking with any plastic utensil has long been seen as worrisome because heat can cause chemicals in the plastic to migrate into the food you’re about to eat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2024

There may not be a built-in slot for me in a standard utensil tray, but it doesn't matter.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Check your supply of bowls, spoons, napkins and serving utensils.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Along with furniture, clothing and religious statuary, kitchen utensils, Le Creuset pans and cigarette lighters are on offer.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Thus, we’ve had microhistories of coal, sugar, rain, dust, cotton, butter, notebooks, eating utensils and bookmaking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

There were more utensils off to one side hanging from hooks on the wall.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• appliance
• equipment
• fork
• gadget
• instrument
• knife
• silverware
• tableware
• ware

---