splatter
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
splatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
splattered,
past participle, past
-
splattering
present participle
noun
-
splatters
plural
-
an act or instance of splattering.
-
the quantity splattered.
to wipe up a splatter of ketchup on the rug.
adjective
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
splattersimple
-
splatterssimple
-
have splatteredperfect
-
has splatteredperfect
-
am splatteringprogressive
-
are splatteringprogressive
-
is splatteringprogressive
-
have been splatteringperfect progressive
-
has been splatteringperfect progressive
Past
-
splatteredsimple
-
had splatteredperfect
-
was splatteringprogressive
-
were splatteringprogressive
-
had been splatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splatter
Explanation
In horror movies, you'll see a lot of blood splattering on walls. Ick. To splatter is to splash liquid. A splatter is also the spot the liquid makes. When you spill some liquid on the ground, the sound it makes is splat. Splash a lot of it, and you have a splatter — drops of the liquid across a large area. If you are frying meat in a hot pan, the grease will splatter across the stove and counter near it. In the figurative use, gossip about a celebrity's mishaps is often splattered throughout a gossip magazine like spilled milk on a floor.
Vocabulary lists containing splatter
Holes
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Salt to the Sea
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The remarkable Ms. Weaving is a contender for Australian Scream Queen, but few would expect Mr. Segel, a Judd Apatow mainstay, to star in a splatter comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He noted the amount of paint splatter on Islas was uncommon for the weapon’s marking cartridges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
Despite the film’s absurd splatter gore, timely parody and hyper-stylized direction, all things the Academy doesn’t typically take kindly to, Moore’s chances looked decent.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2025
There was no trace of Yablonka, including any blood splatter.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
Hannah would probably just judge me on my pee splatter patterns or something.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
While one might assume there’s a small dedicated area where the rain is confined, that’s not the case — it splatters over the whole stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
For all its lavishly detailed smashes and splatters, “Crush!” contains not one representation of something a human might use an iPad for; it contains no humans, full stop.
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
Next comes the primal sight - a full and swinging delivery from Wood that splatters the stumps.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
Thomas says a backsplash can add visual interest to your kitchen and protect your walls from spills and splatters.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
One of them breaks and splatters the stone with yellow.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Every visitor must exit through the Blood Room, a gruesomely immersive space whose walls are streaked, smeared, splattered and practically dripping with the red stuff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
This week the meal box came with a container of harissa sauce splattered over its contents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
His custom designs range variously include the Miesha name, a half-lady ghost-butterfly, splattered imagery, quotes in cursive and barbed wire lettering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Andrew describes people's belongings being "scattered" and "coffee and water splattered the ceiling".
From BBC ● May 21, 2024
Hagrid’s note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
"There are thousands of them together, all coughing and splattering," Bamford said, adding that the seals are also particularly "snotty".
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
But for those not yet comfortable with high-heat cooking, this can lead to issues — like smoke filling your kitchen or, worse, a fire from oil or fat splattering in the pan.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
Removing the moisture minimizes splattering as they fry.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
Old Rihanna songs blasted as we decorated our canvases, and the room was already covered in paint, so we didn’t have to worry about spilling or splattering on any surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
They were so realistic, he could even hear water splattering onto the flames.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
