spatula
spatula Lexical Profile
spatula Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A kitchen implement with a broad, flat, blunt blade, used for mixing, spreading, scraping, or lifting food.
"She used a flexible silicone spatula to scrape the last bit of cake batter from the mixing bowl."
A small hand tool with a flat blade used in laboratories for transferring solid chemicals, or in medicine for spreading ointments.
"The chemist used a stainless steel spatula to weigh out a precise amount of the powdered reagent onto the balance."
A tool resembling a palette knife, used by artists for mixing or applying thick paint to a canvas.
"He preferred applying the impasto layers of acrylic paint with a small metal spatula rather than a traditional brush."
Word Nuance & Usage
In everyday culinary use, 'spatula' can ambiguously refer either to a rigid, flat tool used for flipping food (often called a 'turner' or 'flipper') or to a flexible, rubber-bladed tool used for scraping bowls.
• Rhymes for spatula
Word Origin & Etymology
From Latin 'spatula', a diminutive form of 'spatha' meaning 'broad, flat piece of wood or metal', ultimately derived from the Greek 'spathe' (broad blade).