A spigot is a faucet or valve that controls the flow of liquid from a pipe or container. The spigot on the side of your house lets you turn water on and off for watering the garden or washing the car. A large water cooler has a spigot you press or turn to fill your cup.

Spigots are designed to give you control: turn the handle one way and water flows out, turn it the other way and the flow stops. They're simple but incredibly useful devices that have been around for centuries. Before modern plumbing, people used spigots on barrels and casks to pour out stored liquids like water, cider, or oil without having to tip over a heavy container.

The word can also mean the end of a pipe that fits into another pipe. A plumber might talk about connecting one pipe's spigot end into another pipe's socket.

You might also hear someone use spigot as a metaphor for any source that can be turned on or off, like when a coach says “turn off the spigot” to mean stop giving up easy points to the other team.