# cutlery

/ˈkətɫɝi/ (US) · /kˈʌtləɹi/ (UK) · CEFR B1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/cutlery
Updated: 2026-05-11

## Definition

the knives, forks, and spoons that you use for eating and serving food.

For teachers: knives, forks, and spoons used for eating or serving food. Often refers to the set of tools collectively rather than individual items.

## Examples

- Please put the clean cutlery back in the kitchen drawer.
- The waiter arrived with fresh cutlery after we ordered our main courses.
- In formal dining etiquette, the arrangement of cutlery follows a specific order, starting from the outside and moving inward with each successive course.

## Pitfalls

- Not "I need to buy some new cutleries." but "I need to buy some new cutlery." — Cutlery is uncountable and does not have a plural form.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.