Spoon Definition: Meaning, Usage & Examples

To make it convenient to eat with a spoon, you need to know exactly how to choose its size. And to know exactly how to define spoon in speech, you should get acquainted with our illustrations.

It is difficult to fully replace a spoon with anything, just like a word, and therefore, it has almost no direct synonyms. But there are many words with which the word spoon goes well.

Related nouns: ladle teaspoon tablespoon dessert spoon

Synonyms (contextual): scoop

Common collocations: silver spoon soup spoon slotted spoon plastic spoon

Remember how well a spoon goes with a fork and knife on your table. But knowing what “spoon” means is not enough; it is also important to organically combine it with different parts of speech, and we will now introduce you to the most successful options.

With adjectives: serving spoon antique spoon measuring spoon large spoon

With verbs: hold a spoon drop a spoon stir with a spoon eat with a spoon

With nouns (noun + noun): spoon handle spoon bowl spoon collection

Such a simple and familiar object as a spoon has firmly entered our everyday life, as well as our speech. And frequent use of “spoon” in English has allowed this word to even become the hero of catchphrases, acquiring completely new shades and meanings.

• Greasy spoon — a small, cheap, unattractive cafe that serves mainly fried food.

  I’m really hungry, but I don’t want to eat in this greasy spoon.

• Be born with a silver spoon in (one’s) mouth — to be born into a wealthy family of high social standing.

    I’m quite rich now, but I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I had to achieve everything by myself.

• To get (win, take, etc.) the wooden spoon — to come in last place in a competition or contest.

    I wasn’t in the best shape today, which is probably why I won the wooden spoon in the competition.

• To make a spoon or spoil a horn — to put forth all one’s efforts to achieve something, even if it means ruining something. The phrase harks back to the days when cow horns were used to make cutlery.

    Mary had dreams of making a career, and she was willing to make a spoon or spoil a horn to achieve it.

So, after the previous sections, you learned how to spell “spoon” correctly and how to use it in sentences. Let’s check if everything is clear to you and if it is easy to apply the knowledge in practice.

Spoons can be wooden or silver, large or small. They also have particular names in different languages, and in order not to get lost during your trip, find out how to say “spoon” in other countries.

Our world is amazing and filled with incredible situations in which the most familiar and ordinary things are involved. For example, a usual spoon has become the subject of interesting facts, which we will tell you about.

• The first spoons were not for eating?

  The first spoons were made from natural materials such as shells, animal bones, and even leaves, and metal spoons appeared in Ancient Egypt only in the Bronze Age. However, these spoons were not used for eating, but in religious ceremonies. And only over time, spoons became more practical and began to be used for everyday eating.

• The spoon was an important cultural and historical object in the past.

  This seemingly inconspicuous object was often worn attached to the belt and could be one of the most important personal items, especially for the poor. An indispensable household item, it was often given as part of a dowry and passed down from generation to generation long before our modern disposable culture emerged.

• Do you know what “Apostle’s Spoons” are?

  These spoons were made in sets of 12 or 13, each decorated with a figure of one of the apostles. Sets of 13 spoons included either a “Master’s Spoon” with an image of Jesus Christ or a spoon with an image of St. Paul. The oldest of these dates back to 1493, and in Tudor times it became common to give a set (or part of a set) of Apostle’s Spoons as a christening gift.

• Some types of spoons were invented specifically for the most popular dishes.

  Thus, by studying the spoons used in different cultures, one can draw conclusions about the popularity of certain dishes. For example, the fact that there were once special Stilton spoons proves the exceptional love of the English for the fragrant blue cheese.

• The world’s smallest spoon was created in India.

  Based on information from the Guinness World Records a Jaipur artist named Navratan Prajapati has created the world’s smallest wooden spoon. It’s only 0.7 inches long, and he even placed the utensil on a grain of rice to emphasize its tiny size.

As you have noticed, the description of the spoon is quite interesting, despite its simplicity. However, its daily use and popularity have made it the main character of the statements of many famous people.

— Elton John

Explanation: A famous musician expresses the opinion that if a child has an excess of material opportunities, then this can spoil him and cause problems in the future.

— Christopher Meloni

Explanation: Most likely, this quote is a reference to the movie “The Matrix,” where the main character tried to bend objects with the power of thought. And the author of this statement is convinced that a person can change the reality around him with the way he thinks.

— Umberto Eco

Explanation: It’s hard to disagree with the writer’s opinion, who assures us that a book is one of the masterpieces created by humanity, because it has universality and at the same time completeness.