teaspoon

[ tee-spoon ]

noun

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

teaspoon

/ ˈtiːˌspuːn /

noun

1. a small spoon used for stirring tea, eating certain desserts, etc
2. Also calledteaspoonfulˈtiːˌspuːnfʊl the amount contained in such a spoon
3. a unit of capacity used in cooking, medicine, etc, equal to about one fluid dram

Word History and Origins

Origin of teaspoon¹

First recorded in 1680–90; tea + spoon

Example Sentences

A teaspoon of neutron-star material might be enough to give us gravity, she says.

From Science News For Students

Sometimes, he applies his irony with a shovel where a teaspoon would work.

From Washington Post

Then, using a teaspoon or your fingers, add a bit of stuffing to each leaf, starting on the outside and working your way in.

From Washington Post

A teaspoon of healthy soil can contain between 100 million and 1 billion of these microbes.

From Science News For Students

Forest soils can hold several hundred of them in a teaspoon.

From Science News For Students

Place one sheet of phyllo on the board, brush it with butter, and sprinkle it with ¾ teaspoon of bread crumbs.

From The Daily Beast

I popped a teaspoon of coconut oil (purchased at Trader Joe's) into my mouth and took very deep breaths through my nose.

From The Daily Beast

A tablespoon of ketchup, for example, contains about a teaspoon of sugar, or about 16 calories of added sugar.

From The Daily Beast

Also great for recipes that call for a teaspoon of fresh-ground black pepper, which is otherwise incredibly tedious.

From The Daily Beast

I have the one with common measure equivalents--how many milligrams in a teaspoon, how many teaspoons in a cup.

From The Daily Beast

Mix one pint of bran, one-half pint of flour, and one level teaspoon of baking soda.

From Project Gutenberg

Schmidt smiled again as he set his teaspoon across his cup, the conventional sign that he wished no more tea.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a spoon, as shown in Fig. 3, is about the length of a teaspoon, but has a round bowl.

From Project Gutenberg

The spoon to be served with soup also depends on the kind of soup, but a larger spoon than a teaspoon is always necessary.

From Project Gutenberg

Then she added the fourth of a pound of brown sugar and the fourth of a teaspoon of mixed ground spices.

From Project Gutenberg