cutlery

/ˈkʌtləri/

/ˈkʌtləri/

Other forms: cutleries

The spoons, forks, and knives in your kitchen drawer? They're collectively referred to as cutlery, the implements you use when you eat food. Dig in!

You can use the noun cutlery for every single kitchen tool you use to serve or prepare food, but it's most commonly used for the ones you put beside your plate when you set the table. Other terms for cutlery include flatware and silverware. As you might guess from the cut within the word, cutlery was originally used only for cutting utensils — knives, in other words.

Definitions of cutlery

1. noun

   tableware implements for cutting and eating food
   synonyms: eating utensil

   types:

   fork

   cutlery used for serving and eating food

   spoon

   a piece of cutlery with a shallow bowl-shaped container and a handle; used to stir or serve or take up food

   Spork

   trademark for a plastic eating utensil that has both tines and a bowl like a spoon

   table knife

   a knife used for eating at dining table

   butter knife

   a small knife with a dull blade; for cutting or spreading butter

   carving fork

   a large fork used in carving cooked meat

   case knife

   a metal blade with a handle; used as cutlery

   dessert spoon

   a spoon larger than a teaspoon and smaller than a tablespoon

   fish knife

   a small table knife with a spatula blade used for eating fish

   runcible spoon

   a fork-like spoon with a cutting edge; coined by Edward Lear

   salad fork

   a fork intended for eating salads

   soup spoon, soupspoon

   a spoon with a rounded bowl for eating soup

   steak knife

   a sharp table knife used in eating steak

   sugar shell, sugar spoon

   a spoon for serving sugar; often made in the shape of a seashell

   tablefork

   a fork for eating at a dining table

   tablespoon

   a spoon larger than a dessert spoon; used for serving

   tea maker

   a covered spoon with perforations

   teaspoon

   a small spoon used for stirring tea or coffee; holds about one fluid dram

   toasting fork

   long-handled fork for cooking or toasting frankfurters or bread etc. (especially over an open fire)

   wooden spoon

   a spoon made of wood

   type of:

   tableware

   articles for use at the table (dishes and silverware and glassware)
2. noun

   a cutting implement; a tool for cutting
   synonyms: cutter, cutting tool

   types:

   bolt cutter

   an implement for cutting bolts

   cigar cutter

   an implement for cutting the tip off of a cigar

   die

   a cutting tool that is fitted into a diestock and used for cutting male (external) screw threads on screws or bolts or pipes or rods

   edge tool

   any cutting tool with a sharp cutting edge (as a chisel or knife or plane or gouge)

   glass cutter

   a tool for cutting glass

   tile cutter

   a cutter (tool for cutting) for floor tiles

   adz, adze

   an edge tool used to cut and shape wood

   ax, axe

   an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle

   chisel

   an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge

   gouge

   and edge tool with a blade like a trough for cutting channels or grooves

   hand ax, hand axe

   a stone tool with a cutting edge; the stone is held in the hand and used for chopping

   hob

   a hard steel edge tool used to cut gears

   knife

   edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle

   pick, pickax, pickaxe

   a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends

   carpenter's plane, plane, woodworking plane

   a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood

   razor

   edge tool used in shaving

   pair of scissors, scissors

   an edge tool having two crossed pivoting blades

   scythe

   an edge tool for cutting grass; has a long handle that must be held with both hands and a curved blade that moves parallel to the ground

   shear

   a large edge tool that cuts sheet metal by passing a blade through it

   reap hook, reaping hook, sickle

   an edge tool for cutting grass or crops; has a curved blade and a short handle

   wire cutter

   an edge tool used in cutting wire

   type of:

   cutting implement

   a tool used for cutting or slicing