Dip, bail, scoop, ladle, spoon, dish mean to remove a liquid or a loose or soft substance from a container by means of an implement (as a pail, spoon, or scoop). They are often followed by up or out.
Dip suggests the process of plunging the utensil (usually called a dipper) into the substance and lifting it out full; it is the preferred word when the labor involved is to be implied or the action is described.
Bail is used chiefly in reference to something (as a boat) in which water has accumulated or is accumulating; it implies emptying or an attempt to empty by means of repeated dipping.
Scoop, ladle, spoon throw the emphasis on the kind of implement employed in an operation consisting usually of dipping, conveying, and pouring.
Scoop suggests a shovellike implement, either a small kitchen utensil for dipping out loose dry material (as flour, sugar, or coffee beans) or for gouging out pieces of a soft substance (as cheese) or a much larger and heavier implement used in digging or excavating operations or in the removal of a heap of things from one place to another.
Ladle implies the use of a ladle, or long-handled implement with a bowl-shaped end and often a pouring lip; it is especially used of substances which are liable to be spilled.
The term sometimes implies the use of a mechanical device for removing and conveying liquid (as molten metal) from one container to another.
Spoon implies the use of a spoon in lifting and depositing something (as food or medicine).
Dish implies transference to the individual plate or dish of a portion of food (as by ladling or spooning).