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# tablespoon

noun (a tablespoon, tablespoons; short forms tbsp, T)

«tablespoon» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A tablespoon is a large spoon used for serving food or for measuring in cooking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#m1)
2. A tablespoon (tablespoonful) is the amount it holds, used as a measure in recipes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#m2)

### In the lessons

Maths and cooking: in the UK, Ireland, the USA and NZ a tablespoon is about 15 ml; in Australia it is 20 ml. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (UK/US). Recipes write «tbsp» (tablespoon) and «tsp» (teaspoon) — mixing them up can ruin a cake. Measures are usually level, not heaped, unless the recipe says so. Health: medicine should be measured with the special spoon or syringe it comes with, not a kitchen spoon.

### Examples

- Add two tablespoons of sugar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x1)
- One tablespoon is the same as three teaspoons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x2)
- Mum served the peas with a tablespoon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x3)
- The recipe says 1 tbsp of oil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x4)
- Use a level tablespoon of flour, not a heaped one. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x5)
- How many millilitres are in 4 tablespoons? (60 ml in the UK) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x6)
- Don't confuse tbsp with tsp! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/#x7)

### Note

Countable, one word. Short forms: tbsp, Tbsp, T; teaspoon is tsp or t. Maths: 1 tbsp ≈ 15 ml (20 ml in Australia), so 2 tbsp ≈ 30 ml. Plural: tablespoons (or tablespoonfuls).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tablespoon» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tablespoon/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tablespoon» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tablespoon.html) on Mova free.