Meaning & use
spigot
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A tap, usually outdoors, from which water comes out when you turn a handle.
Grammar: Chiefly American; in British English you would say outdoor tap.
Patterns
- turn on the spigot
- an outdoor spigot
He connected the garden hose to the spigot.
Turn off the spigot before you leave.
A drip from the old spigot kept him awake.
nouncountabletechnical
A small plug or valve used to stop or control the flow of liquid from a barrel.
Grammar: Technical use for barrels and casks.
Patterns
- a spigot on a barrel
He opened the spigot on the cider barrel.
The brewer hammered the spigot into the cask.
Use the spigot to draw a small sample of wine.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that controls the supply or flow of money, goods or information, often described as being turned on or off.
Grammar: Figurative; common in news writing about funding.
Patterns
- turn off the spigot
- turn on the spigot
The government turned off the spigot of aid.
Investors opened the spigot for new tech start-ups.
The sudden cut shut the spigot on research funding.
Word forms
| plural | spigots |
|---|
Common combinations
- outdoor spigot
- The outdoor spigot froze during the cold snap.
- turn on the spigot
- Turn on the spigot to fill the watering can.
- garden spigot
- A garden spigot sits beside the back door.
- turn off the spigot
- The lender turned off the spigot, and the project collapsed.
- leaky spigot
- The leaky spigot wasted gallons of water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- faucet
- Faucet is the usual American word for any tap, indoors or out, while spigot is mostly outdoors or on a barrel.
- tap
- Tap is the British term and is far more common there, covering both indoor and outdoor fittings.
- valve
- Valve is any device that controls flow, not just a water outlet with a handle.
- bibcock
- Bibcock is a technical term for an outdoor tap with a bent nozzle, and it is rare in everyday speech.
Word family
Commonly confused: spigot or spicket?
spigot vs spicket
Spicket is a common non-standard spelling of spigot. The correct standard spelling is spigot.
Practice
Before washing the car, he screwed the hose onto the outdoor ___.
Choose one answer.
A spigot is an outdoor water tap, and a hose can be attached to it. The other options do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spigot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.