Spatula Meaning
/ˈspætjʊlə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.
nounA kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls.
Sentence Examples
My kitchen help has the intelligence of a spatula.
Tom took a spatula out of the drawer.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef used a ____ to flip the pancakes in the frying pan carefully.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used a rubber ____ to scrape every last bit of cake batter from the large mixing bowl.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin spatula (“a flat piece”), the diminutive form of spatha (“broad or flat tool”), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “a broad wood or metal blade”). Doublet of spauld; compare spatha and spathe.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost!"
— 1963, Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service:
"The third instars are similar to other members of the genus except for a three-pronged spatula (typically two-pronged) and five lateral papillae (typically four) and with a nonbristled first instar."
— 2015 November 2, Donald B. Thomas, John A. Goolsby, “Morphology of the Preimaginal Stages of Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a Candidate Biocontrol Agent for Giant Arundo Cane”, in Psyche, →DOI:
"A book on Pastels referes [sic] to a rough Modeling paste to be spatulaed over cotton duck."
— 1996 September 3, Macy Garcia, “What is the difference between Gesso, Modeling Paste & Texture Gel?”, in rec.arts.fine (Usenet):
"So if you get road-pizzaed, should you have to pay in order to get yourself spatulaed off of the street?"
— 1997 May 15, Toby, “Any same-sex marriage opposition?”, in alt.atheism (Usenet):
"Eddie spatulaed the patty onto a bun and extracted tomatoes, lettuce, and sliced pickles from a Tupperware."
— 2018 March 13, Bruce Holbert, Whiskey: A Novel, MCD, →ISBN, page 4:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef used a ____ to flip the pancakes in the frying pan carefully.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She used a rubber ____ to scrape every last bit of cake batter from the large mixing bowl.