tablespoon

ruokalusikka puhekieltä A large spoon, used for eating food from a bowl.
(quote-text)|title=(w)|volume=1|page=178|url=http://books.google.com.au/books?id=x1MDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=%22tablespoon%22%7C%22tablespoons%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=NYjf-kg1kB&sig=sAvF98bnfDySDnUjmf-T2BqYgWA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YYN2UMGWIOaWiQeb7oC4DA&redir_esc=yv=onepage&q=%22tablespoon%22%7C%22tablespoons%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false|passage=Their eggs were deposited on a few bits of straw, and great caution was necessary in attempting to procure them, as the slightest touch crumbled their frail tenement into dust. By means of a tablespoon, I was enabled to procure many of them.
puhekieltä A spoon too large for eating, usually used for cooking or serving.
puhekieltä A unit of volume, the value of which varies regionally; in the US: three teaspoons or roughly 15 milliliter ml; in Britain and Canada: exactly 15 ml; in Australia: four teaspoons or 20 ml.
1995 May 22, Salad Recipes, w:New York (magazine)|New York, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=SOMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=%22tablespoon%22 %22tablespoons%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&source=bl&ots=3GLGJhRG5D&sig=EZ07Qjrp_0niYy3UjLbk97DXHFs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yFx2UMTJEomDiQeKtoE4&redir_esc=yv=onepage&q=%22tablespoon%22|%22tablespoons%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 51,

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet until hot and quickly saute the goat-cheese buttons on both sides until brown.

If you are using a 15 ml (3 teaspoon) tablespoon, for most recipes the difference will not be noticeable.

The problem gives us a number of tablespoons of cooking oil and asks us to convert this amount into milliliters. We are also told that one tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons, but this is a relationship between two units, not an actual measurement.