Definition

Noun: A knife used for eating at a dining table. It is a piece of cutlery, typically with a blunt or rounded blade, designed for general use during a meal, such as cutting soft foods or spreading butter.

Usage

A table knife is a standard utensil found in a place setting for a formal or informal meal. It is used alongside a fork and often a spoon. Its primary function is for cutting food that does not require a sharp blade, such as cooked vegetables, tender meat, or bread.

Examples

• Noun:
  • Please set the table with a fork, spoon, and a table knife for each guest.
  • He used his table knife to spread butter on the dinner roll.
  • The steak was so tender that a regular table knife cut through it easily.

Advanced Usage

• "To lay/place/set the table knife": Refers to the act of positioning the knife correctly as part of table setting etiquette.
  • In formal dining, the table knife is placed to the right of the dinner plate, with the blade facing inward.

Variants and Related Words

• Dinner knife: A common synonym for a table knife, often used interchangeably.
• Butter knife: A specific type of table knife with a blunt, sometimes rounded, blade designed primarily for spreading butter or soft cheeses.
• Steak knife: A sharper, serrated knife provided specifically for cutting tough meat; it is a specialized type of table knife.
• Cutlery / Flatware: The collective term for eating utensils, including table knives, forks, and spoons.

Synonyms

• Dinner knife
• Place knife

Related Phrases

• Knife and fork: The basic pair of eating utensils.
  • Remember to hold your table knife in your right hand and your fork in your left.

Noun

1. a knife used for eating at dining table