Word forms: plural dessertspoonfuls, plural dessertspoonsful
countable noun
You can refer to an amount of food resting on a dessertspoon as a dessertspoonful of food.
[British]
...a dessertspoonful of olive oil. [+ of]
dessertspoonful in British English
(dɪˈzɜːtspuːnfʊl)
noun
the quantity that a dessertspoon will hold
dessertspoonful in American English
(dɪˈzɜːrtspuːnˌful)
nounWord forms: plural-fuls
as much as a dessertspoon can hold: 21⁄2 fluid drams
Word origin
[1870–75; dessertspoon + -ful]This word is first recorded in the period 1870–75. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Victorian, asymmetric, immobilize, linkage, onshore-ful is a suffix meaning “full of,” “characterized by” (shameful; beautiful; careful; thoughtful); “tending to,” “able to” (wakeful; harmful); or “as much as will fill” (spoonful)
Examples of 'dessertspoonful' in a sentence
dessertspoonful
Heat over a fairly high heat and drop a dessertspoonful of the fritter mixture into the pan.