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View synonyms for spit

spit

1

[ spit ]

verb (used without object)

, spit or spat, spit·ting.
  1. to eject saliva from the mouth; expectorate.
  2. to express hatred, contempt, etc., by or as if by ejecting saliva from the mouth.
  3. to sputter:

    grease spitting on the fire.

    Synonyms: spatter

  4. to fall in scattered drops or flakes, as rain or snow.


verb (used with object)

, spit or spat, spit·ting.
  1. to eject from the mouth:

    The children were spitting watermelon seeds over the fence.

  2. to throw out or emit like saliva:

    The kettle spits boiling water over the stove.

  3. to set a flame to.

noun

  1. saliva, especially when ejected.
  2. the act of spitting.
  3. Entomology. Also called spittle. the frothy secretion exuded by spittlebugs.
  4. a light fall of rain or snow.

verb phrase

  1. to vomit; throw up:

    The wounded soldier spat up blood.

    If you jostle the baby, she'll spit up.

spit

2

[ spit ]

noun

  1. a pointed rod or bar for thrusting through and holding meat that is to be cooked before or over a fire.
  2. any of various rods, pins, or the like used for particular purposes.
  3. a narrow point of land projecting into the water.
  4. a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore.

verb (used with object)

, spit·ted, spit·ting.
  1. to pierce, stab, or transfix, as with a spit; impale on something sharp.
  2. to thrust a spit into or through.

spit

1

/ spɪt /

noun

  1. the depth of earth cut by a spade; a spade's depth
“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


spit

2

/ spɪt /

noun

  1. a pointed rod on which meat is skewered and roasted before or over an open fire
  2. Also calledrotisserierotating spit a similar device rotated by electricity or clockwork, fitted onto a cooker
  3. an elongated often hooked strip of sand or shingle projecting from the shore, deposited by longshore drift, and usually above water
“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

verb

  1. tr to impale on or transfix with or as if with a spit
“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

spit

3

/ spɪt /

verb

  1. intr to expel saliva from the mouth; expectorate
  2. informal.
    intr to show disdain or hatred by spitting
  3. (of a fire, hot fat, etc) to eject (fragments of coal, sparks, etc) violently and with an explosive sound; splutter
  4. intr to rain very lightly
  5. troften foll byout to eject or discharge (something) from the mouth

    he spat the food out

    to spit blood

  6. troften foll byout to utter (short sharp words or syllables), esp in a violent manner
  7. spit chips slang.
    to be very angry Also (NZ)spit tacks
  8. spit it out! informal.
    a command given to someone that he should speak forthwith
“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

noun

  1. another name for spittle
  2. a light or brief fall of rain, snow, etc
  3. the act or an instance of spitting
  4. informal.
    another word for spitting image
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈspitter, noun
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Other Words From

  • spitlike adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of spit1

First recorded before 950; Middle English verb spitten, spit(te), Old English spyttan, spittan; cognate with Old Norse spýta, German (dialect) spitzen “to spit”; the noun is derivative of the verb

Origin of spit2

First recorded before 1000; Middle English spit(e), spitte, Old English spitu; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German spit, spet, Old High German spiz “spit”; akin to Old Norse spīta “wooden peg, spit”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of spit1

C16: from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German spit

Origin of spit2

Old English spitu; related to Old High German spiz spit, Norwegian spit tip

Origin of spit3

Old English spittan; related to spǣtan to spit, German dialect spitzen
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. spit and image, Informal. exact likeness; counterpart: Also spitting image, spit 'n' image.

    Hunched over his desk, pen in hand, he was the spit and image of his father at work.

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Example Sentences

Orient Beach State Park, a 363-acre spit of land jutting out into Gardiner’s Bay, is one of the few North Fork beaches that doesn’t require a residential parking permit.

He bought an aquarium, an electric motor, a heating element, a metal spit rod and a few other spare parts and began to tinker.

Pitchers put spit or other substances on the ball to make their pitches dip and swerve so they would be harder to hit.

I bring a lot of masks in my backpack because I don’t like when my mask gets wet from spit.

From Time

They help filter or block spit or mucus droplets that carry infectious particles.

Qatar is just a little spit of land that looks like a polyp on edge of Saudi Arabia.

So he and his partner, Zack Simpson, did what they do so well: started spit-balling some game theory around politics.

I breathed sloppily through my mouth, hung my head between my legs, and spit every so often.

We still have a long way to go, but it has improved dramatically since the post Vietnam syndrome when Vets were spit on.

Forgive my candor, though such is my wont, but much like that moose on a spit, Bernie is dead.

Many gallants 'took' their tobacco in the lords room over the stage, and went out to (Saint) Paul's to spit there privately.

When used by gentlemen it was common to carry a silver basin to spit in.

They are permitted to throw the leavings of their food and spit where they like, sit how they like and smoke everywhere.

Fergan, as well as his companions, curious to know the purpose of the stake and spit, followed the priest.

Sirs, this is but a temporary dispensation; this is but a puff of wind, this is but a spit of rain and by with it.

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Related Words

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.

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