What does "spatula" mean?
A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.
Spatula
/ˈspætjʊlə/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.
- Grammar: spatula is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: air brush, art paper, brush, buffer.
- Useful contrasts: eggwhisk.
- Usage evidence: My kitchen help has the intelligence of a spatula.
How to use "spatula"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spatula" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spatula" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spatula" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spatula" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spatula" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "air brush" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spatula", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.
- 2 a hand tool with a thin flexible blade used to mix or spread soft substances wordnet
- 3 A kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls. Canada, US
- 4 a turner with a narrow flexible blade wordnet
- 5 A palette knife. dated
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A thin hand tool, often made of nickel, for handling chemicals or other materials, when weighing, etc.
- 7 A tongue depressor. UK
- 8 A croupier's tool for turning up cards in a casino.
"The croupier delicately faced her other two cards with the tip of his spatula. A four! She had lost!"
- 9 A sclerotized, T-shaped plate in the prothorax of larvae of flies belonging to family Cecidomyiidae, the gall midges.
"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."
Verb
- 1 To lift with or as if with a spatula. transitive
"A book on Pastels referes [sic] to a rough Modeling paste to be spatulaed over cotton duck."
- 2 To strike with a spatula. transitive
"Or if you're a Ranma Character. I mean, they've been kicked/punched/thrown/hammered/spatulaed into the stratosphere enough times, you gotta figure they've developed a prretty high threshold of pain/injury."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"My kitchen help has the intelligence of a spatula."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spatula"?
Common synonyms include: air brush, art paper, brush, buffer, camera lucida, camera obscura.
How do you use "spatula" in a sentence?
My kitchen help has the intelligence of a spatula.
How do you pronounce "spatula"?
Pronounced /ˈspætjʊlə/.
Etymology
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.