Dictionary.com

lickspittle

[ lik-spit-l ]
/ ˈlɪkˌspɪt l /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for lickspittle on Thesaurus.com
noun
a contemptible, fawning person; a servile flatterer or toady.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
navy
beryl
azure
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Meet Grammar CoachWrite or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar helpImprove Your Writing
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help
Also Archaic, lick·spit [lik-spit] /ˈlɪkˌspɪt/ .

Origin of lickspittle

First recorded in 1620–30; lick + spittle

Words nearby lickspittle

lick into shape, Lick Observatory, lick one's chops, lick one's wounds, lick someone's boots, lickspittle, lick the stuffing out of, licorice, licorice stick, lictor, lid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to lickspittle

adulator, ass-kisser, bootlicker, brown-nose, fawner, flatterer, flunky, groveler, lackey, sycophant, toady, truckler

How to use lickspittle in a sentence

  • Picture Maddow having said at some point that Benedict was "a capitalist lickspittle."

    Darks Days for Bill Donohue|Michael Tomasky|December 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

  • You get up right after midnight to practice being a lickspittle and a trimmer!

    Such is Life|Frank Wedekind

  • Had I been the most contemptible lickspittle on the meanest and greediest quest, his expression could not have been worse.

    A Dash .. .. .. For a Throne|Arthur W. Marchmont

British Dictionary definitions for lickspittle

lickspittle
/ (ˈlɪkˌspɪtəl) /
noun
a flattering or servile person
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK