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definitions

spatter

[ spat-er ]
/ ˈspæt ər /
|

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to send out small particles or drops, as falling water: rain spattering on a tin roof.
to strike a surface in or as in a shower, as bullets.

noun

the act or the sound of spattering: the spatter of rain on a roof.
a splash or spot of something spattered.

RELATED WORDS

daub, smudge, speckle, mottle, stipple, speck, spangle, dash, disperse, strew, slop, douse, soil, sputter, splutter, wet, spot, broadcast, spray, discharge

Nearby words

  1. spatial summation,
  2. spatiality,
  3. spatially,
  4. spatiography,
  5. spatiotemporal,
  6. spatter cone,
  7. spatter dash,
  8. spatterdash,
  9. spatterdock,
  10. spatula

Origin of spatter

1575–85; perhaps < Dutch spatt(en) to splash + -er6; compare Dutch spatterig literally, spattery
Related formsspat·ter·ing·ly, adverbun·spat·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spattered

British Dictionary definitions for spattered

spatter

/ (ˈspætə) /

verb

to scatter or splash (a substance, esp a liquid) or (of a substance) to splash (something) in scattered dropsto spatter mud on the car; mud spattered in her face
(tr) to sprinkle, cover, or spot (with a liquid)
(tr) to slander or defame
(intr) to shower or rain downbullets spattered around them

noun

Word Origin for spatter

C16: of imitative origin; related to Low German, Dutch spatten to spout, Frisian spatteren to splash
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
Word Origin and History for spattered

spatter

v.

1570s (implied in spattering), possibly a frequentative verb from the stem of Dutch or Low German spatten "to spout, burst," of imitative origin. Related: Spattered.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper