spit

¹ American  

[spit] / spɪt /

verb (used without object)

spit, spat, spitting

1. to eject saliva from the mouth; expectorate.

2. to express hatred, contempt, etc., by or as if by ejecting saliva from the mouth.

3. to sputter.

   grease spitting on the fire.

   Synonyms:

   spatter

4. to fall in scattered drops or flakes, as rain or snow.

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verb (used with object)

spit, spat, spitting

1. to eject from the mouth.

   The children were spitting watermelon seeds over the fence.

2. to throw out or emit like saliva.

   The kettle spits boiling water over the stove.

3. to set a flame to.

noun

1. saliva, especially when ejected.

2. the act of spitting.

3. Also called spittle. Entomology. the frothy secretion exuded by spittlebugs.

4. a light fall of rain or snow.

verb phrase

1. spit up to vomit; throw up.

   The wounded soldier spat up blood.

   If you jostle the baby, she'll spit up.

idioms

1. spit and image, exact likeness; counterpart: Also spitting image, spit 'n' image.

   Hunched over his desk, pen in hand, he was the spit and image of his father at work.

spit ² American  

[spit] / spɪt /

noun

1. a pointed rod or bar for thrusting through and holding meat that is to be cooked before or over a fire.

2. any of various rods, pins, or the like used for particular purposes.

3. a narrow point of land projecting into the water.

4. a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore.

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verb (used with object)

spitted, spitting

1. to pierce, stab, or transfix, as with a spit; impale on something sharp.

2. to thrust a spit into or through.

spit ¹ British  

/ spɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to expel saliva from the mouth; expectorate

2. informal (intr) to show disdain or hatred by spitting

3. (of a fire, hot fat, etc) to eject (fragments of coal, sparks, etc) violently and with an explosive sound; splutter

4. (intr) to rain very lightly

5. to eject or discharge (something) from the mouth

   he spat the food out

   to spit blood

6. to utter (short sharp words or syllables), esp in a violent manner

7. Also (NZ): spit tacks. slang to be very angry

8. informal a command given to someone that he should speak forthwith

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noun

1. another name for spittle

2. a light or brief fall of rain, snow, etc

3. the act or an instance of spitting

4. informal another word for spitting image

spit ² British  

/ spɪt /

noun

1. a pointed rod on which meat is skewered and roasted before or over an open fire

2. Also called: rotisserie, rotating spit. a similar device rotated by electricity or clockwork, fitted onto a cooker

3. an elongated often hooked strip of sand or shingle projecting from the shore, deposited by longshore drift, and usually above water

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verb

1. (tr) to impale on or transfix with or as if with a spit

spit ³ British  

/ spɪt /

noun

1. the depth of earth cut by a spade; a spade's depth

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Other Word Forms

• spitter
  noun
• spitlike
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of spit¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English verb spitten, spit(te), Old English spyttan, spittan; cognate with Old Norse spýta, German (dialect) spitzen “to spit”; the noun is derivative of the verb

Origin of spit²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English spit(e), spitte, Old English spitu; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German spit, spet, Old High German spiz “spit”; akin to Old Norse spīta “wooden peg, spit”

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Explanation

To spit is to propel saliva—which is also called spit—from your mouth. Generally speaking, it's rude to spit, particularly if you're at a fancy dinner party. There are some parts of the world where it's socially acceptable to spit in public, and it was once accepted in most of the West too. During the Middle Ages, Western Europeans found it less polite to "suck back" spit than to, well, spit. And spittoons, receptacles for spitting in, were common until the early 20th century, when the influenza epidemic and public health campaigns about tuberculosis greatly reduced public spitting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spit spat spitted spitting

Some of them spit saliva on you unconsciously, especially if you are seated not far from them, and they are a nuisance in terms of noise and saliva.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

In the banquet scene, a pig brought in on a spit and laid on the table was suddenly replaced by Banquo, hallucinated by Macbeth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

You’ll find all different kinds of fonts and found art and fine art, and it’s all integrated in a blender for your mind to spit back out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

But even I still get nervous sometimes when asking for a deal, feeling like I have to physically swallow my nerves just to spit the words out.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

But he got tired of waiting and went off on his own, leaving a small sea of spit where he’d been sitting.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

BBC's Nada Tawfik was in Detroit, Michigan where the party spat unfolded.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

I’ve seen Tanden get into a headline-making spat with progressive blogger Matt Bruenig; I’ve even watched her carry on a one-sided vendetta against Susan Sarandon.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

But after circling a few times, the shark spat out the bait, leaving fishermen on the pier stunned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

He is in the middle of a public spat with Pennsylvania officials, including Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, after the state health department reported two measles-associated deaths involving infants.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Finally, she just spat out the only thing that came to mind.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

That’s because the first preseason practice of the Kalen DeBoer era was greeted with a sudden bout of Pacific Northwest weather, as rain spitted on the turf inside Husky Stadium Thursday.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2022

Defendant Browder instead chose to plead his own case, ably belabored the technical charge on which he was spitted.

From Time Magazine Archive

The whole world is invited, as many reputations as possible are spitted and turned slowly over a sizzling fire, the fumes purposely wafted this way and that.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the King had plenty for himself, his party, and for a banquet of spitted laham-mashwy and rice pilaff for the ship's officers.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Well, only a little ..." Jon spitted the carcass, banked the fire with a pair of rocks, and balanced their meal atop them.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Some have questioned why those officiating the competition in Beijing last weekend did not intervene when the athlete soiled herself, given that Hyrox penalises acts including spitting and littering.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

In a 2021 interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” Rivera’s mother, Yolanda Previtire, and sister, Nickayla Rivera, described Josey as the spitting image of his mother.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

The company intends for it to help students think through problems, rather than just spitting out answers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

It warrants no qualifiers, no deeper thought, because Boy George clearly didn’t think too hard about it himself before spitting it out into the world.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

The trees are dead here too, but they carry their dead leaves rather than spitting them to the ground.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

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