scoop
scoop — noun
1. a kitchen or serving tool that has a deep, rounded head and a short handle, desi
a kitchen or serving tool that has a deep, rounded head and a short handle, designed to lift soft materials like ice cream, flour, or sugar, and also used for digging into soil or sand.
Quan used an ice-cream scoop to serve dessert to his guests.
collocation: ice-cream scoop
The gardener grabbed a scoop from the shed to fill the flowerpot with soil.
Aylin used the plastic scoop from her rice cooker to measure a cup of rice.
collocation: plastic scoop / measuring scoop
Esteban dipped the scoop into the bag of birdseed and poured it into the feeder.
Metal scoops are commonly used in bakeries to portion out cookie dough quickly.
passive construction: are commonly used
- ice-cream scoop
- measuring scoop
- plastic scoop
- metal scoop
- scoop of ice cream
- cookie scoop
Grammar Patterns
a scoop (of something)
ice-cream scoop
measuring scoop
Usage Note
Countable. Often specified by the substance it holds (e.g. ice-cream scoop, flour scoop). In the United States, a cookie scoop is a common household tool for making uniformly sized cookies.
Common Mistakes
2. the amount of a soft substance that fits into a scoop, often used as a serving s
the amount of a soft substance that fits into a scoop, often used as a serving size for ice cream, rice, or pet food.
Caleb asked for two scoops of chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone.
pattern: two scoops of [flavour] ice cream
Each serving of the protein powder is one scoop mixed with water.
pattern: one scoop of [substance]
Ife fed the dog one scoop of kibble in the morning and another at night.
The recipe says to add three scoops of flour to the mixing bowl.
pattern: [number] scoop(s) of [ingredient]
Christopher ordered a double scoop of vanilla with sprinkles on top.
collocation: double scoop
- scoop of ice cream
- two scoops
- double scoop
- single scoop
- scoop of rice
- scoop of powder
Grammar Patterns
a scoop of something
two scoops of something
Usage Note
Commonly used with ice cream, powdered supplements, pet food, and baking ingredients. A double scoop usually means two portions in one serving container.
Common Mistakes
3. a news item that one media outlet reports first, before any of its rivals can pu
a news item that one media outlet reports first, before any of its rivals can publish the same story.
The journalist was proud of her scoop on the mayor's secret business deal.
pattern: scoop on [person/event]
Aylin stayed up all night to verify the details before publishing her scoop.
The local newspaper lost its biggest scoop to a rival TV station.
collocation: biggest scoop
Esteban's team celebrated after their scoop won a national journalism award.
Getting a scoop requires strong sources and careful fact-checking before going to print.
collocation: get a scoop
- big scoop
- exclusive scoop
- get a scoop
- break a scoop
- journalistic scoop
Grammar Patterns
a scoop on someone/something
get/have a scoop
Usage Note
Frequently used in journalism contexts. The verb form (to scoop someone) means to publish a story before a rival can. Often preceded by big, exclusive, or major.
4. the most recent and often private details about a person, event, or situation, e
the most recent and often private details about a person, event, or situation, especially information that is not yet widely known by the public.
Ife called her brother to get the scoop on their cousin's wedding plans.
pattern: get the scoop on [event]
Nobody at the office knew the scoop about the manager's sudden resignation.
Christopher gave me the scoop on which restaurants are worth visiting in Taipei.
pattern: give [someone] the scoop on [topic]
Do you have the scoop on why the concert was cancelled at the last minute?
Quan shared the inside scoop about the company's new product before the launch event.
collocation: inside scoop
- the scoop on
- inside scoop
- get the scoop
- give the scoop
- the real scoop
- inside information
slightly more formal, can be used in business contexts
- lowdown
even more informal, typical of casual American speech
- dope
dated slang, rarely used by younger speakers
Grammar Patterns
the scoop on someone/something
give someone the scoop
Usage Note
Almost always used with the definite article: the scoop. Frequently followed by on (the scoop on something). Very informal — suitable for conversation but not formal writing.
Common Mistakes
5. a rounded, bowl-shaped hollow or cavity left in a surface after a substance has
a rounded, bowl-shaped hollow or cavity left in a surface after a substance has been removed, or naturally formed in the ground or a material.
The archaeologist carefully brushed the dirt from the small scoop in the rock.
Aylin noticed a deep scoop in the sofa cushion where the cat always slept.
pattern: scoop in [surface]
Rainwater collected in every scoop and hollow along the dirt path.
The erosion had left a wide scoop at the base of the cliff.
Caleb traced the scoop in the wood where a knot had fallen out years ago.
pattern: scoop in [material]
- scoop in the ground
- scoop in the rock
- deep scoop
- wide scoop
- cavity
more technical, used in medical or scientific contexts
- hollow
more general, not necessarily round
- indentation
suggests a mark pressed inward rather than material removed
Grammar Patterns
a scoop in/out of something
Usage Note
This sense is far less common than the others. It appears most often in descriptive or technical writing about geology, archaeology, or physical damage to surfaces.
scoop — verb
1. to pick up, move, or remove a substance using a scoop-shaped tool, a spoon, or t
to pick up, move, or remove a substance using a scoop-shaped tool, a spoon, or the curved hand, often with a swift or gentle motion.
Christopher scooped the last of the porridge into a bowl for his daughter.
pattern: scoop [substance] into [container]
The children scooped sand into their buckets on the beach.
Aylin scooped the fallen leaves out of the pond with a small net.
pattern: scoop [thing] out of [place]
Quan scooped up his cat and carried her away from the open window.
pattern: scoop up [living thing]
Esteban scooped the flour out of the bag with a measuring cup.
- scoop up
- scoop out
- scoop into
- scoop from
- scoop with
Grammar Patterns
scoop something (up/out)
scoop something into/onto something
Usage Note
Often used with the particle up or out, which changes the emphasis: scoop up suggests lifting, while scoop out suggests removing from an enclosed space. When the object is a person or animal, only scoop up is natural.
Common Mistakes
2. to take many prizes, votes, or awards in a competition or election, often in a w
to take many prizes, votes, or awards in a competition or election, often in a way that seems effortless or decisive.
Esteban scooped the top prize at the school science fair with his robot design.
collocation: scoop the top prize
The film scooped six awards at the national ceremony, including Best Picture.
Caleb's team scooped nearly all the medals in the swimming competition.
The popular candidate scooped sixty percent of the vote in the election.
Ife scooped first prize in both the poetry and short story categories.
- scoop the prize
- scoop the award
- scoop the vote
- scoop the title
Grammar Patterns
scoop something (up)
be scooped by someone
Usage Note
Primarily British usage. In American English, sweep is more common for winning many awards (e.g. swept the Oscars). Scoop here carries an informal, almost playful tone.
Common Mistakes
3. to find out about a significant event and report it in print or broadcast before
to find out about a significant event and report it in print or broadcast before any competing news organisation does.
The Daily News scooped every other paper on the election scandal.
pattern: scoop [competitor] on [topic]
Quan's blog scooped the mainstream media by reporting the factory fire first.
The two reporters raced to scoop each other on the celebrity wedding story.
A local radio station scooped the national networks on the earthquake news.
If any journalist scoops us on this investigation, our editor will be furious.
pattern: scoop [us/competitor]
- scoop someone on
- scoop the competition
- scoop the press
- scoop rivals
- beat
the general verb; scoop is more specific to journalism
- get ahead of
less dramatic, used in broader competitive contexts
Grammar Patterns
scoop someone (on something)
scoop a story
Usage Note
The object of the verb is the rival news outlet or journalist who is beaten, not the story itself. You scoop another publication on a story.
Common Mistakes
4. to defeat or outdo a competitor in any kind of contest or race, especially by ac
to defeat or outdo a competitor in any kind of contest or race, especially by acting faster or more cleverly than they do.
A startup company scooped the tech giants by launching a similar product first.
pattern: scoop [competitor] by [action]
Caleb scooped his classmates by finishing the puzzle in under three minutes.
The small bakery scooped the bigger chains by offering a delivery service.
Esteban scooped the other bidders with a last-minute offer on the house.
pattern: scoop [competitor] with [strategy]
Ife scooped her opponent in the debate with a well-timed counterargument.
- scoop a rival
- scoop the competition
- scoop others
Grammar Patterns
scoop someone (to/on something)
Usage Note
This is a rarer, more general extension of sense 3 (journalism). In modern usage, outdo, beat, or outsmart are more common than scoop in general competition contexts. The sense survives primarily in sports commentary and informal business talk.
scoop up
phrasal verbto lift or pick up someone or something quickly, often with a single smooth motion using the hands or arms.
The mother scooped up her toddler and ran toward the shelter.
Christopher scooped up the scattered papers before the wind blew them away.
scoop out
phrasal verbto remove the inside part of something using a tool or a spoon, leaving a hollow shell behind.
Quan scooped out the inside of the pumpkin to make a lantern.
The recipe says to scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon.
Word family
- scoopernounB2
- scoopfulnounB2
- scoopedadjectiveC1
- scoopingnounB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Scoop, ladle, shovel, and spatula are all tools that move substances, but they differ in shape and purpose. A scoop has a deep, rounded bowl and is used for soft solids and powders — think ice cream or flour. A ladle also has a deep bowl but is meant for liquids such as soup or sauce; its handle is usually longer. A shovel is much larger and heavier, designed for earth, gravel, or coal, and is associated with outdoor or construction work. A spatula is flat and flexible, used for flipping, lifting, or spreading rather than digging. In the kitchen, you might use a scoop for cookie dough, a ladle for broth, a spatula for flipping pancakes, and a shovel for the garden — each tool matches the material it handles.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word scoop entered English around the 1300s from Middle Dutch schope, meaning a bucket for drawing water. It is related to the Dutch schop (shovel or spade). The meaning expanded from a water bucket to any tool for digging or lifting loose material. By the 1400s, the verb form was in use. The news-related sense emerged in American journalism in the 1870s, based on the idea of a newspaper "scooping up" a story before its rivals.