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
Start by filling the nail holes with wood filler or spackle and sand smooth once the compound dries.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
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
With more conventional drywall, a hole is easily spackled and painted over, but concrete in-fill leaves a visible scar.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2019
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
And who knows, somewhere some drywall might end up in need of a little spackling.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
Where walls or siding need a lot of scraping, spackling and sanding, the same-sized project can take twice as long.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2022
Otto Klein’s people, meanwhile, were putting on their show, spackling every crack in the action with giveaways, games and promotions.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
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.
