SPOONFEED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spoonfeed mean? 

• SPOONFEED (verb)
  The verb SPOONFEED has 2 senses:

1. feed with a spoon

2. teach without challenging the students

  Familiarity information: SPOONFEED used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPOONFEED (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they spoonfeed    ... he / she / it spoonfeeds   
Past simple: spoonfed   
Past participle: spoonfed   
-ing form: spoonfeeding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feed with a spoon

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "spoonfeed" is one way to...):

feed; give (give food to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

spoonfeeding (feeding someone (as a baby) from a spoon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Teach without challenging the students

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

This professor spoonfeeds his students

Hypernyms (to "spoonfeed" is one way to...):

instruct; learn; teach (impart skills or knowledge to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sentence example:

The parents spoonfeed a French poem to the children

Derivation:

spoonfeeding (teaching in an overly simplified way that discourages independent thought)