spate

[speyt]

noun

1. a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring.

   a spate of angry words.

2. British.

   1. a flood or inundation.

   2. a river flooding its banks.

   3. a sudden or heavy rainstorm.

spate

/ speɪt /

noun

1. a fast flow, rush, or outpouring

   a spate of words

2. a sudden flood

   the rivers were in spate

3. a sudden heavy downpour

Word History and Origins

Origin of spate¹

1400–50; late Middle English (north) < ?

Word History and Origins

Origin of spate¹

C15 (Northern and Scottish): of unknown origin

Example Sentences

And despite occasional disappointments, a spate of earnings from the so-called Magnificent Seven—which also includes Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Tesla—helped the Nasdaq finish October 4.7% higher.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A common complaint has been female players having to use men's boots, which have been linked to the spate of serious knee ligament injuries in the WSL.

Read more on BBC

Amnesty researcher Roland Ebole told AFP that much of the anger stems from a spate of abductions and murders targeting government critics that many blame on her son.

Read more on Barron's

And the recent spate of cuts, she said, told her “very little” about the current state of the economy.

Read more on MarketWatch

But many in India had not heard of these guns until last week, when a spate of injuries was reported after Diwali.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• deluge 
• flood 
• flurry 
• outpouring 
• string 
• succession 
• torrent 
• wave