Ladle Definition: The Surprising Meaning, Uses, Pronunciation And More

A ladle is a long handled utensil with a deep, rounded bowl at one end, used to scoop up and pour liquids such as soup, stew, sauce, or punch. The word can also work as a verb, meaning to spoon or pour a liquid using this tool, or in a similar generous, scooping motion.

Most people meet the word in a kitchen, but it shows up in a few other places too, including heavy industry, where a completely different kind of ladle carries molten metal.

The Simple Meaning of Ladle

In plain terms, a ladle is a big spoon built for liquids rather than solid food.

It has three basic parts:

• A deep, cup shaped bowl that holds the liquid
• A long handle so the user’s hand stays away from heat and splashes
• Sometimes a small hook or notch on the handle, so it can rest on the edge of a pot

Merriam Webster describes the noun form as a deep-bowled long-handled spoon used especially for dipping up and conveying liquids. Cambridge Dictionary gives a very similar picture, calling it a very big spoon with a long handle and a deep cup-shaped part, used especially for serving food or drink.

So the core idea is consistent across sources: size, a deep bowl, a long handle, and a job that involves liquid rather than solid food.

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Ladle As A Noun And A Verb

Ladle is a bit unusual because the same word covers both the object and the action.

As a noun: A ladle is the physical tool itself, like a soup ladle sitting in a drawer.

As a verb: To ladle something means to serve or transfer it using that scooping motion. Merriam Webster’s verb entry defines it as to take up and convey in or as if in a ladle.

That second phrase, as if in a ladle, matters. It means the verb does not always require an actual ladle in hand. Someone can ladle rice, batter, or even praise, as long as the action feels like generous, repeated scooping.

Quick Detail Box

Quick detail	Information
Meaning	A long handled, deep bowled spoon for liquids, or the act of serving with one
Word type	Noun and verb
Pronunciation	Rhymes with cradle, stressed on the first syllable
Common context	Cooking, serving food, industrial metalwork
Tone	Neutral, everyday word
Related terms	Spoon, dipper, scoop, dish out

How Do You Pronounce Ladle?

Ladle is pronounced LAY dul, with the stress on the first syllable. Merriam Webster’s Thesaurus entry writes the pronunciation as ˈlā-dᵊl, which matches this LAY dul sound.

It rhymes with words like cradle, ladder softened at the end, and saddle, though the vowel sound is different from saddle. If it helps, think of it as sounding close to “made’ll,” said quickly.

There is no silent letter to trip over. Every part of the spelling is pronounced in a fairly predictable way once you know the stress falls on the first syllable.

Is It Ladle or Laddle?

The correct spelling is ladle, with one D.

Laddle, with two D’s, is a common misspelling. It likely happens because the pronunciation has that short, snappy middle sound, which makes some writers guess a doubled consonant, the way it works in words like paddle or saddle.

If a spellchecker or search result shows laddle, treat it as the misspelled version. Ladle is the only correct form in standard English dictionaries.

Ladle Definition in Cooking

In a kitchen setting, a ladle is one of the most basic serving tools, right alongside a spatula and a whisk.

Cooks reach for a ladle to:

• Serve soup, stew, or chili into individual bowls
• Pour sauce or gravy over a finished dish
• Add stock or broth gradually while making risotto or gravy
• Portion out batter for pancakes or crepes
• Fill jars with jam, syrup, or pickling liquid during canning

Dictionary.com notes that a ladle is a large spoon with a deep bowl for scooping and serving soup and other liquids, and gives an everyday example: it might be messy to serve chowder without one.

Soup Ladle, Sauce Ladle And Gravy Ladle

These are not different words, just different jobs for the same basic tool.

A soup ladle is usually the largest size, built to move a full portion of broth and solid pieces at once. A sauce ladle or gravy ladle tends to be smaller, since sauces and gravies are served in smaller amounts and need more control to avoid overpouring.

Kitchen supply stores often label ladles this way simply to help shoppers pick the right size, not because the word itself changes meaning.

Wooden Ladle And Kitchen Ladle

A wooden ladle is a ladle carved from wood instead of metal or plastic.

Wood does not conduct heat quickly, so a wooden ladle stays cooler to hold, and it will not scratch a nonstick pot the way metal can. Kitchen ladle is simply a general label for any ladle meant for cooking or serving food, as opposed to an industrial one.

How Is Ladle Actually Used in Real Life?

Beyond the dictionary definition, the word shows up constantly in everyday cooking language, both spoken and written.

Recipe writers use it as an instruction verb almost as often as stir or whisk. Bon Appetit, for example, uses the phrase in a very typical way when describing how to build a bowl of noodle soup, instructing readers to divide noodles, chicken, and peas among bowls, then ladle broth into each one.

Food and lifestyle writers also use ladle casually to describe amounts, not just actions, such as calling for one ladle of stock rather than giving an exact cup measurement.

The word appears just as naturally in home conversation as it does in professional recipes, which suggests it sits in fairly neutral, everyday territory. It is common enough that dictionaries do not flag it as formal, technical, or old fashioned.

Ladle In Industry

Outside the kitchen, a ladle also refers to a large vessel used to carry and pour molten metal in foundries and steel mills. Wikipedia’s disambiguation entry lists this industrial meaning directly alongside the cooking one, describing a ladle in metallurgy as a vessel used to carry, and pour molten metal.

Dictionary.com’s Collins entry backs this up, describing a related meaning as a container for carrying molten metal or matte, and Yourdictionary notes a ladle can also refer to any similar device, as a large container for carrying and pouring molten metal.

In this context, the shape and function stay similar to the kitchen version, a bowl for holding hot liquid, a handle or long arm for control, but the scale is industrial rather than domestic.

What Does Ladle Look Like in a Sentence?

Seeing the word in context often makes it click faster than any definition alone. These examples are original, not quotations from a real source.

• Casual conversation: “Can you pass me the ladle? I want more soup.”
• Cooking instructions: “Ladle the broth over the noodles, then top with green onions.”
• Professional kitchen setting: “The chef ladled the sauce along the plate before adding the seared fish.”
• Everyday description: “She keeps a wooden ladle hanging next to the stove.”
• Industrial context: “Workers moved the ladle carefully as it carried the molten steel.”

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Ladle Hungry: What Does That Phrase Mean?

Ladle hungry is not a standard idiom or recognized slang expression with its own fixed meaning. It does not appear as an established term in major dictionaries or reference sources.

Most of the time, when this phrase turns up, it is simply describing someone who is very hungry and eager for a generous, ladle sized portion of food, such as a heaping serving of soup or stew. Think of it as a playful, informal way to say someone wants a big helping, rather than a fixed slang term with agreed rules.

If someone used it in casual conversation, the meaning would likely depend heavily on the surrounding sentence, since it is not a widely documented expression.

Is Ladle Slang For Anything?

No. Ladle is a standard English word, not slang. Every major dictionary consulted, including Merriam Webster, Cambridge, Collins, and Dictionary.com, defines it as an ordinary noun and verb tied to serving liquids.

There is no widely recognized internet slang or texting meaning attached to the word. If it appears in a slang list, it is worth treating that source with caution, since it does not match standard reference material.

Ladle Definition For Kids

For a younger reader, here is the simplest version:

A ladle is a big spoon with a deep, round cup and a long handle. People use it to scoop up soup or other liquid food and pour it into a bowl.

You might see one used at home for soup night, or at a school cafeteria, where a worker uses a large ladle to serve stew or chili onto each tray.

Where Did the Word Ladle Come From?

Ladle has old roots in English, tracing back over a thousand years.

According to Dictionary.com, the Old English version was hlædel, from hladan, “to load,” plus the “tool” suffix -le. Yourdictionary’s etymology entry lines up with this, tracing the word through Middle English ladel, from Old English hlædel, derived from Proto-Germanic hlaþaną, meaning to load.

In short, a ladle was originally understood as a loading tool, something built to load or transfer liquid from one container to another. That original sense still fits the modern meaning closely: a ladle loads liquid from a pot into a bowl.

Ladle In French

The standard French word for ladle is louche.

Collins English to French Dictionary confirms this directly, translating the noun ladle as louche, and giving the example sentence about ladling soup into bowls as being translated using the French verb form of the same word.

Cambridge Dictionary offers a very similar translation, rendering ladle as louche, or servir à la louche when used as a verb meaning to serve with a ladle.

So in French, la louche is the object, and servir à la louche describes the action of serving with one.

Words That Mean Something Similar to Ladle

A ladle is a specific type of spoon, so most of its close synonyms are also spoon related tools.

According to Merriam Webster’s Thesaurus, common near synonyms for the noun include spoon, dipper, scoop, teaspoon, tablespoon, soupspoon, and skimmer.

For the verb form, meaning to scoop or serve liquid, related words include scoop, spoon, dip, drain, dish, and bail.

Note On These Synonyms

None of these words are perfect substitutes. A teaspoon and a ladle are both spoons, but they serve very different jobs, one for stirring coffee, the other for serving a full bowl of soup. When precision matters, size and purpose separate these words more than the dictionary entry alone suggests.

Is Ladle the Same as Dipper or Scoop?

Not quite. These words overlap, but each has its own typical shape and job.

Term	Meaning	Typical use	Key difference
Ladle	Long handled utensil with a deep, rounded bowl	Serving soup, stew, sauce, or molten metal	Deep bowl built specifically for liquids
Dipper	A cup or ladle shaped tool for dipping into a liquid	Scooping water, punch, or similar drinks	Often smaller and simpler, sometimes just a cup with a handle
Scoop	A shovel like tool with a curved or flat bowl	Ice cream, flour, sugar, dry ingredients	Usually built for solids or thick foods, not thin liquids

A ladle is essentially a specialized dipper built with cooking in mind, while a scoop is generally the wrong tool for a thin liquid like broth.

When Should You Use the Word Ladle?

Use ladle whenever you are talking about serving or measuring a liquid with that classic deep bowled spoon.

It fits naturally in:

• Recipes and cooking instructions
• Everyday kitchen conversation
• Descriptions of soup kitchens, cafeterias, or catering
• Technical or industrial writing about molten metal handling

It would sound odd, though, in place of an ordinary spoon used for eating cereal or stirring tea. Ladle implies size, a deep bowl, and usually a serving action rather than personal eating.

Is Ladle Appropriate to Use in Any Setting?

Yes. Ladle is a completely standard, neutral word. It carries no slang connotation, no formality restriction, and no risk of sounding rude or outdated.

It works equally well in a professional recipe, a children’s book, a technical manual about steelmaking, or casual conversation at the dinner table.

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Before You Use Ladle: Remember This

Ladle almost always implies liquid, or at least a very loose, pourable food like batter or thick sauce. It is not the right word for scooping solid or dry foods such as rice straight from a bag, flour, or ice cream, where scoop or spoon fits better.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ladle mean in cooking?

In cooking, a ladle is a large, deep spoon used to serve liquid foods like soup, stew, sauce, or broth from a pot into a bowl or plate.

Is ladle a noun or a verb?

Both. As a noun, it names the utensil itself. As a verb, it describes the act of serving or pouring liquid the way a ladle would.

How do you spell ladle correctly?

The correct spelling is ladle, with a single letter D. Laddle, with two D’s, is a common misspelling.

How do you pronounce ladle?

Ladle is pronounced LAY dul, with stress on the first syllable, similar in rhythm to the word cradle.

What is another word for ladle?

Close alternatives include dipper, scoop, and soupspoon, though each of these implies a slightly different size or shape.

What is a soup ladle used for?

A soup ladle is used to scoop soup, stew, or broth out of a large pot and pour it into individual serving bowls.

Is a ladle the same as a scoop?

Not exactly. A ladle is built for liquids and has a deep, rounded bowl, while a scoop is usually meant for dry or thick foods and often has a flatter or shovel like shape.

What is a ladle called in French?

In French, ladle is called louche. The related verb phrase servir à la louche means to serve with a ladle.

Where does the word ladle come from?

It comes from the Old English word hlædel, related to hladan, meaning to load, showing that the word originally described a tool for loading liquid from one place to another.

Is ladle used outside of cooking?

Yes. In metalworking and steel production, a ladle refers to a large vessel used to carry and pour molten metal.

What is a person who uses a ladle called?

There is no standard, widely used title such as ladler for a person who ladles food, outside of very informal or joking usage. Server, cook, or cafeteria worker are the terms typically used instead.

The Simple Takeaway

A ladle is a long handled utensil with a deep bowl, built for scooping and serving liquids like soup, stew, and sauce, and the same word works as a verb for that serving action. Outside the kitchen, it also names the large vessel used to pour molten metal in industry. Either way, the core idea stays the same: a tool, or an action, built around loading liquid from one place to another.