To save this word, you'll need to log in.
Definition of wooden spoon
1 : a spoon made of wood presented originally at Cambridge University to the man ranking lowest among those taking honors in the mathematical tripos and at other colleges and universities to other selected recipients
2 : the recipient of a wooden spoon
Comments on wooden spoon
What made you want to look up wooden spoon? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!
- Which is a synonym of fuliginous?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share wooden spoon