spackle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Etymology
Origin of spackle
First recorded in 1925–30; perhaps from German Spachtel “putty knife,” variant of Spatel “spatula”; see spatula ( def. )
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:
When the Pratts recently redid their bathroom, Gina Pratt explained, Harvey couldn’t hold back from sculpting small, figurative frescoes into the spackle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
The White Sox, a talented but underachieving bunch meandering through another disappointing season, have spackle to share.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Shearing cooked spuds with any blade — food processor, blender or hand mixer — releases enormous amounts of starch and turns the mash into spackle.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
You can either paste the paper back down with wallpaper adhesive, or tear off the damaged parts, spackle, and sand the area.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2022
I’ve seen her do stuff like this before—fix leaky pipes, unplug a clogged sink, or smack a glob of spackle on a hole in the wall.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
The Order: The sesame bagel is lovely on its own—or spackled with a schmear of pastrami lox cream cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
There are scenes of childbirth, as a man and woman look toward a swaddled baby in what appears to be a hospital room where the spackled walls show scars of fighting.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2022
His sauce is more like a vibrant, slightly spicy salsa, and it’s spackled on in dollops atop the cheese, allowing for a fluffier crust.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2020
She painted and spackled her face — “I think I forgot how to put on makeup” — then settled on jeans, heels, a sleeveless shell and a pendant necklace.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2020
Big-hoofed gray horses spackled like wolves, that rolled their eyes and whinnied at my footfall, leagued with men as if strapped to their business by harness I could not see.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Start with good mayo, and use just enough to bind; we’re not spackling a wall.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
There are quite a few exterior spackling compounds and epoxy wood fillers that do a magnificent job of filling large cracks and holes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
We took an unused commercial space and fixed it up pretty quickly by spackling and painting the walls white.
From New York Times ● May 29, 2020
For those not familiar with the intricacies of face spackling, makeup primer goes on after moisturizer but before foundation.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2019
I didn’t know it yet, but he and his mother had moved fourteen times over a period of ten years, and he had become expert at hanging pictures and spackling plaster.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
