teaspoon

American  

[tee-spoon] / ˈtiˌspun /

noun

1. a small spoon generally used to stir tea, coffee, etc.

2. a teaspoonful.

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teaspoon British  

/ ˈtiːˌspuːn /

noun

1. a small spoon used for stirring tea, eating certain desserts, etc

2. Also called: teaspoonful.  the amount contained in such a spoon

3. a unit of capacity used in cooking, medicine, etc, equal to about one fluid dram

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Etymology

Origin of teaspoon

First recorded in 1680–90; tea + spoon

Compare meaning

How does teaspoon compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• teaspoon vs. tablespoon

Explanation

In cooking, a teaspoon is a small unit of measurement, as well as the name of the utensil you use to measure it. If you like your tea slightly sweet, you might add just a teaspoon of sugar to it. You can also call a small spoon used for stirring coffee or tea a teaspoon. When you're making a recipe, it's good to know that a teaspoon is equal to one-third of a tablespoon, or five milliliters. The word teaspoon dates from the 1680s.

Example Sentences

The researchers worked with a small amount of Bennu material, about the size of a teaspoon.

From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026

Glazing, he figured, wasn’t the best option for ashes, since it used just a teaspoon of remains, a tiny fraction of the ashes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

The resulting crumbs were fried in olive oil with ¼ teaspoon of Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan until crisp.

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2025

But as an observer once described it, we’ve been managing rather than solving the crisis and essentially bailing a leaky boat with a teaspoon.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

Maybe he’d had so much water that his tummy only had enough room for a teaspoon of food?

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas