ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Spoon-feed

/ˈspunˌfid/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive) To help somebody (usually a baby or elder) to eat using a spoon; to feed using a spoon..

(intransitive) To help somebody (usually a baby or elder) to eat using a spoon; to feed using a spoon.
(transitive) To overly pamper or indulge (someone), so that they do not (or because they failed to) act or think for themselves.
(transitive) To give (something) in an overly pampering way, so that the recipients do not (or because they failed to) act or think for themselves.
(ambitransitive) To explain (something, to someone) in simple words; to explain (it, to them) in words of one syllable; to spell (it) out (for them).

I can help you with your homework, but you must understand the concept, because I will not spoon-feed you.

What do you mean "I don't know"? I'm practically spoon-feeding you the answer!

Use spoon-feed when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Spoon-feed means (intransitive) To help somebody (usually a baby or elder) to eat using a spoon; to feed using a spoon..

The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

I can help you with your homework, but you must understand the concept, because I will not spoon-feed you.

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.

ENGLISH DICTIONARY

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Definitions by Sense

(intransitive) To help somebody (usually a baby or elder) to eat using a spoon; to feed using a spoon.

(transitive) To overly pamper or indulge (someone), so that they do not (or because they failed to) act or think for themselves.

(transitive) To give (something) in an overly pampering way, so that the recipients do not (or because they failed to) act or think for themselves.

(ambitransitive) To explain (something, to someone) in simple words; to explain (it, to them) in words of one syllable; to spell (it) out (for them).

Frequently Asked Questions

Spoon-feed means (intransitive) To help somebody (usually a baby or elder) to eat using a spoon; to feed using a spoon..

The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

I can help you with your homework, but you must understand the concept, because I will not spoon-feed you.

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.