# spoon

Pronunciation: say "SPOON" US /spun/, UK /spuːn/

## Noun

1. An implement consisting of a small, shallow oval or round bowl on a long handle, used for eating, stirring, and serving food.
   - Simple: A tool with a small bowl on a handle, used for eating, stirring, or serving food.
   - _He set out a spoon beside each bowl before dinner._
   - _The toddler banged her spoons against the table._
3. The quantity of something that a spoon will hold; a spoonful.
   - Simple: The amount of something that fits in one spoon.
   - _The recipe calls for a spoon of honey._
   - _He added a few spoons of oil to the pan._
5. A metal fishing lure whose concave shape resembles the bowl of a tablespoon.
   - Simple: A curved metal lure used in fishing that wobbles in the water to attract fish.
   - _She tied a silver spoon to her line and cast toward the weeds._
   - _Anglers often switch to a heavier spoon in fast-moving water._
6. A notional unit of the limited physical and mental energy a person can spend on daily tasks, a concept used especially by people with chronic illness or disability. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A unit used to count how much energy a person has for daily tasks, often used by people with long-term illness.
   - _Each social event costs her several spoons, so she plans her week carefully._
   - _He budgets one spoon for the commute and saves the rest for work._
7. The safety lever on a hand grenade that functions as a trigger, held down until the grenade is thrown. *(US)*
   - Simple: The metal lever on a hand grenade that keeps it safe until it is thrown.
   - _The soldier held the spoon down tightly while pulling the pin._
   - _When he released his grip, the spoon sprang free and the fuse began to burn._

## Verb

2. To serve or transfer something using a spoon.
   - Simple: To move food from one place to another using a spoon.
   - _He spooned yogurt into a small dish for the baby._
   - _Volunteers spoon hot stew onto plates for the guests._
4. To lie nestled front-to-back against another person, each body following the other's curves like stacked spoons. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To lie close behind someone, curled to match the shape of their body.
   - _On chilly evenings they like to spoon under the blankets._
   - _She spooned him gently until he drifted off._
8. To fish with, or catch fish using, a concave, spoon-shaped metal lure.
   - Simple: To fish using a shiny, curved metal lure shaped like the bowl of a spoon.
   - _Anglers spoon for salmon where the current quickens below the falls._
   - _We caught three trout by spooning the deep pools below the dam._
10. To strike the ball weakly with a lifting, pushing motion rather than a clean, audible hit.
   - Simple: To hit a ball softly with a lifting, scooping motion instead of a clean strike.
   - _She spooned the approach and left it well short of the hole._
   - _Nervous players tend to spoon into the net when an easy volley comes their way._

## Verb

9. To flirt or court someone; to behave in a romantic or amorous way. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To flirt or behave in a loving way toward someone.

## Noun

11. A golf club with a wooden head and moderate loft, comparable to today's fairway wood. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old golf club with a wooden head, used to lift the ball a medium height.
12. A foolish, simple-minded person. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A silly or foolish person.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A dental instrument with a rounded, scooped working end, used to remove decayed material from a tooth.
- (noun) An oar, in the slang of rowers.
- (noun) A South African shrub belonging to the genus Spatalla.

## Origin

Old English spōn meant "sliver, chip of wood, shaving," and Middle English spoon could still mean "chip of wood." Further back, the word goes through Proto-Germanic *spēnuz ("chip, flake, shaving") and possibly to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "chip, shaving, length of wood." Dutch spaan and German Span ("chip") are related. Spoon took the place of the earlier Middle English word cuculer, which came from Latin cochlear.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/spoon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).