noun
spatula
SPAT-yuu-luh
noun
1
A flat-bladed kitchen tool with a long handle, used for flipping, lifting, or spreading food.
"She flipped the pancake with a spatula."
2
A flat, blunt tool used for scraping, mixing, or applying substances outside the kitchen, such as in a lab or a doctor's office.
"The doctor used a wooden spatula to press down her tongue."
How to Use Spatula
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA flat tool for lifting, flipping, spreading, or scraping — most familiar as the thing you flip pancakes with.
Word Forms
spatulaed past tense, spatulas plural, spatulae plural, spatulæ plural, spatulas singular
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Etymology
From Latin spatula, "a flat piece," a smaller version of spatha, "a broad blade" — the same root behind "spade."