saucer
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sawserSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɔsɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table
An object round and gently curved, shaped like a saucer.
A circular sled without runners.
A flat, shallow caisson for raising sunken ships.
A shallow socket for the pivot of a capstan.
verb
transitive
To pour (tea, etc.) from the cup into the saucer in order to cool it before drinking.
intransitive
Of the eyes: to become large and round.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table
Used this way, saucer is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Large deciduous shrub or small tree having large open rosy to purplish flowers.
European biennial widely cultivated for its blue or violet or white flowers.
An (apparently) flying object whose nature is unknown.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.