teaspoon

A teaspoon is a small spoon used for stirring beverages and for serving or measuring small amounts of food and ingredients. In addition to its role as a utensil, teaspoon is also a standard unit of volume in many measurement systems, including the United States customary system and various metric-adapted systems. In cooking and baking, it is widely recognized as a unit of measure.

Size and equivalence: Most modern definitions set a teaspoon at exactly 5 milliliters, roughly one third of a tablespoon. In the United States, the official value is 4.92892 mL, while elsewhere it is commonly rounded to 5 mL. Three teaspoons make up one tablespoon.

Use in cooking and measuring: Teaspoons appear both as actual utensils and as components of measuring spoon sets. Measuring spoons are designed to hold a precise 5 mL for a teaspoon and are often sold in sets that include 1/4, 1/2, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon.

History and usage: The term derives from spoons used in tea service, but today it primarily denotes a unit of measurement. Variations exist between regions and historical sources regarding exact volumes. In households, a spoon labeled “teaspoon” is sometimes used for light medicine dosing, though for accuracy, calibrated measuring tools are preferred.

Form and materials: Teaspoons are typically made of metal, ceramic, or plastic and appear both as part of everyday cutlery and as standalone measuring spoons. They are commonly labeled with the abbreviation tsp on measuring sets.