saucer

noun

sau·​cer ˈsȯ-sər 

1

: a small shallow dish in which a cup is set at table

2

: something resembling a saucer especially in shape

especially : flying saucer

saucerlike

ˈsȯ-sər-ˌlīk 

adjective

Examples of saucer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There was a spot out beyond my boat dock, no more than a city block offshore, where a goldenrod grub or a corn borer lowered through a hole in the ice into the dark water at the end of a nylon line was as sure to get results as a saucer of cream set in front of a hungry cat. —Wilson H. Stover, Outdoor Life, 5 Dec. 2024

Cut the lower branches off the trunk to form your star or saucer magnolia into a tree shape. —Steve Bender, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2024

Our feline hero, a skinny grey cat with wide saucer eyes and a twitchy suspicion of any and all other species, barely manages to escape a pack of hungry dogs before being caught up in a cataclysmic flood. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2024

Some are shaped like shallow bowls or saucers, whereas others have vertical walls. —Associated Press, TIME, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, plate containing a condiment, from Anglo-French, from sauce

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing saucer

• flying saucer

Kids Definition

saucer

noun

sau·​cer ˈsȯ-sər 

1

: a small round shallow dish in which a cup is set

2

: something like a saucer especially in shape