spatter
Americanverb (used with object)
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to scatter or dash in small particles or drops.
The dog spattered mud on everyone when he shook himself.
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to splash with something in small particles.
to spatter the ground with water.
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to sprinkle or spot with something that soils or stains.
verb (used without object)
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to send out small particles or drops, as falling water.
rain spattering on a tin roof.
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to strike a surface in or as in a shower, as bullets.
noun
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the act or the sound of spattering.
the spatter of rain on a roof.
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a splash or spot of something spattered.
verb
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to scatter or splash (a substance, esp a liquid) or (of a substance) to splash (something) in scattered drops
to spatter mud on the car
mud spattered in her face
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(tr) to sprinkle, cover, or spot (with a liquid)
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(tr) to slander or defame
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(intr) to shower or rain down
bullets spattered around them
noun
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the sound of something spattering
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something spattered, such as a spot or splash
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the act or an instance of spattering
Other Word Forms
- spatteringly adverb
- unspattered adjective
Etymology
Origin of spatter
1575–85; perhaps < Dutch spatt ( en ) to splash + -er 6; compare Dutch spatterig literally, spattery
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.
But the big challenge is that metal parts created with additive manufacturing have defects -- like pores, or "voids," rough surfaces and large spatters -- that significantly compromise the finished part's reliability and durability.
From Science Daily
Llera, who has covered crime for more than three decades, smoked a cigarette while he snapped photographs of a taxi spattered with blood.
From Los Angeles Times
In the resulting enigmatic dreamscapes, muted purples, cornflower blues and soft ochres bloom and spatter and fleck in surprising, delicate ways.
From Seattle Times
English was the common language, spattered with classical Latin.
From Seattle Times
Mejia also said that he saw what appeared to be blood spatter on Grossman’s vehicle, but that he did not have the material analyzed.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
