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spatula

spat·u·la/ˈspætjʊlə/noun, verb

spatula is spelled S-P-A-T-U-L-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables (spat·u·la). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spatula means “A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spatula is spatulas or spatulae.

How many letters and syllables are in spatula?

Letters7: S-P-A-T-U-L-A
Syllables3: spat·u·la
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is spatula?

Spatula appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce spatula?

  • /ˈspætjʊlə/
  • /ˈspæt͡ʃʊlə/
  • /ˈspæt͡ʃələ/

Spatula has 3 syllables, split spat·u·la in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-spatula.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of spatula

  • spatulas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • spatulae plural
  • spatulæ plural
  • spatulaing participle, present
  • spatulaed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does spatula mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A kitchen utensil consisting of a flat surface attached to a long handle, used for turning, lifting, or stirring food.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSA kitchen utensil consisting of a flexible surface attached to a long handle, used for scraping the sides of bowls.

  3. 3

    datedA palette knife.

  4. 4

    A thin hand tool, often made of nickel, for handling chemicals or other materials, when weighing, etc.

  5. 5

    UKA tongue depressor.

  6. 6

    A croupier's tool for turning up cards in a casino.

  7. 7

    A sclerotized, T-shaped plate in the prothorax of larvae of flies belonging to family Cecidomyiidae, the gall midges.

verb

  1. 1

    To lift with or as if with a spatula.

  2. 2

    To strike with a spatula.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Spatula in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchspatule (kitchen utensil for turning and lifting)
GermanPfannenwender, Bratenwender (kitchen utensil for turning and lifting), Spachtelmesser (palette knife), Spatel (thin hand tool for handling chemicals or other…)
Portugueseespátula (kitchen utensil for turning and lifting)
Spanishespátula (kitchen utensil for turning and lifting)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does spatula come from?

Borrowed from Latin spatula (“a flat piece”), the diminutive form of spatha (“broad or flat tool”), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “a broad wood or metal blade”). Doublet of spauld; compare spatha and spathe.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after spatula