spew
Americanverb (used without object)
-
spews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spewed,
past participle, past
-
spewing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
spews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spewed,
past participle, past
-
spewing
present participle
-
to eject from the stomach through the mouth; vomit.
-
to cast forth, gush, or eject, as in disgust or anger.
The angry sergeant spewed his charges at us.
noun
verb
-
to eject (the contents of the stomach) involuntarily through the mouth; vomit
-
to spit (spittle, phlegm, etc) out of the mouth
-
(usually foll by out) to send or be sent out in a stream
flames spewed out
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
spewsimple
-
spewssimple
-
have spewedperfect
-
has spewedperfect
-
am spewingprogressive
-
are spewingprogressive
-
is spewingprogressive
-
have been spewingperfect progressive
-
has been spewingperfect progressive
Past
-
spewedsimple
-
had spewedperfect
-
was spewingprogressive
-
were spewingprogressive
-
had been spewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spew
First recorded before 900; Middle English spewen “to vomit, cast forth foul language,” Old English spīwan “to vomit”; cognate with German speien, Old Norse spȳja, Gothic speiwan, Latin spuere
Explanation
To spew is to forcefully expel something, the way a volcano spews hot lava when it erupts, or the way you might spew soda from your mouth if your friend makes you laugh right after you take a big gulp. You might see steam spew from the factory near your house or watch a city bus spew smoke from its exhaust pipe. Figuratively, to spew can also mean "to say ugly or hateful things," and some people also use it to mean "vomit." The Old English source of spew is spiwan ("to spit") and comes from a root that probably imitated the sound of someone spitting.
Vocabulary lists containing spew
Articles on Environmental Issues and Sustainable Living
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I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79
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Jerry Lee Lewis (1935–2022) Tribute List
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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:
Teenager Jasmine Bernard, who lives in a neighborhood bordering Boxtown, has been fighting for two years against the gas turbines that power the data center and spew emissions into the air.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Behind them the water is a luminescent strip of blue, abutting a silhouetted skyline in which many of the buildings belch smoke; a few of the industrial structures spew fire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It used to be that coal’s biggest opponents were environmentalists who raised alarms about the soot they spew.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
What’s more, focusing on the transportation sector has some of the best health benefits for disadvantaged communities that live near the Port of Los Angeles and the freight corridors that traditionally spew diesel pollution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
A spew of office chairs, smashed computer parts, and chewed-up bricks lay on the ground around it.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
When Thoreau spews nonsense, such as men, “like the earth, revolve mainly from west to east, and so are flattened at the poles,” let’s call the silliness by its real name.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
A short walk away, a threshing machine spews clouds of dust and chaff as wheat pours out in a steady stream, rattling into worn brown sacks at farmers' feet.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Everything an AI bot spews out is, at more than a fundamental level, the product of human creativity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
Concerns remain about an AI bubble and big tech’s colossal investments in AI infrastructure, and the technology still spews out reams of inaccurate information.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 1, 2026
“Then what spews from your cauldron?” the youthful goddess questioned.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
This isn’t spewed gibberish: They were telling each other things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing sanctions against her in July last year, said she has "spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West."
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
The January rupture spewed 243 million gallons of raw sewage into the waterway in one of the worst wastewater disasters in U.S. history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
And then there were the potential ills of a conventional approach, like fumes spewed by laminate flooring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2025
He spewed fire at the rain, though that didn’t seem to discourage the storm.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
His film has ill will spewing from every pore, a complete loathing for humanity.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
On a particularly tense drive, they are chased by scorching, wind-fueled wildfires and volcanic ash spewing from Mount Etna.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
This year marked 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear accident which caused a reactor to start spewing out radioactive material that would spread across swathes of Europe.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Still, the “Odyssey” star appeared to have made it through without spewing any body fluids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Las Vegas and buried treasure; numbers dealers and Wells Fargo wagons; race track pay windows and spewing oil wells; craps, flushes, and sweepstakes tickets.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
