spoon

[spoon]

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.

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.

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• spoonless adjective
• spoonlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoon¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoon¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

see born with a silver spoon; greasy spoon.

Example Sentences

According to law enforcement sources, investigators learned one of the grenades was missing when they could only find one of the “spoons” — suggesting just one grenade had exploded at the scene.

From Los Angeles Times

“Greek whole fat yogurt — can’t get enough of it. She’s licking it right off the spoon.”

From Los Angeles Times

Since then, I’ve drizzled it over grilled tofu, spooned it onto fried eggs and swiped it across toasted bread before layering up a sandwich.

From Salon

Earlier this year Fraser was hospitalised after swallowing the handle of a spoon.

From BBC

Critics used terms like “stress bomb” and “adrenaline shot”; current and former restaurant workers described symptoms not unlike those of PTSD, and viewers ate it all up with a spoon.

From Los Angeles Times