Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

spoon-feed

play
verb \ ˈspün-ˌfēd \

Definition of spoon-feed

spoon-fed play \ˈspün-ˌfed\; spoon-feeding
transitive verb
1 :to feed by means of a spoon
2 a :to present (information) so completely as to preclude independent thought
  • spoon-feed material to students
b :to present information to in this manner

See spoon-feed defined for English-language learners

See spoon-feed defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!
alt-59c448f88ea38
Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'
image1644821030
These Are Fighting Words
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

First Known Use of spoon-feed

1615

SPOON-FEED Defined for English Language Learners

spoon-feed

play
verb

Definition of spoon-feed for English Language Learners

  • : to feed (someone) with a spoon

  • : to give someone information in a way that requires or allows no further thinking or effort

Learn More about spoon-feed

  1. See words that rhyme with spoon-feed

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up spoon-feed? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

broadside

play

a strongly worded attack

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. dotage, dotard a state or period of senile decay

  2. otherwise "in other respects"

  3. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  4. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  5. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

spoon-feed

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

  • young-plant-shoots
  • Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c94ad823f29
'Meat Sweats': The Cookout's Worst Nightmare

They're real, but is meat the cause?

alt-59c919f342079
'Diffuse' vs. 'Defuse'

Let us defuse the situation.

alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

The word's origins are quite literal

alt-59c4207ecf106
Let's Talk 'Tea'

Spill it, sip it: just make it hot.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game