spit

¹ American  

[spit] / spɪt /

verb (used without object)

spit, spat, spitting

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.

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verb (used with object)

spit, spat, spitting

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. Also called spittle.  Entomology. the frothy secretion exuded by spittlebugs.

4. a light fall of rain or snow.

verb phrase

1. spit up to vomit; throw up.

   The wounded soldier spat up blood.

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

idioms

1. spit and image, 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.

spit ² American  

[spit] / spɪt /

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.

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verb (used with object)

spitted, spitting

1. to pierce, stab, or transfix, as with a spit; impale on something sharp.

2. to thrust a spit into or through.

spit ¹ British  

/ 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. to eject or discharge (something) from the mouth

   he spat the food out

   to spit blood

6. to utter (short sharp words or syllables), esp in a violent manner

7. Also (NZ): spit tacks.  slang to be very angry

8. informal a command given to someone that he should speak forthwith

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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

spit ² British  

/ spɪt /

noun

1. a pointed rod on which meat is skewered and roasted before or over an open fire

2. Also called: rotisserie.   rotating 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

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verb

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

spit ³ British  

/ spɪt /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• spitter
  noun
• spitlike
  adjective

Etymology

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”

Explanation

To spit is to propel saliva—which is also called spit—from your mouth. Generally speaking, it's rude to spit, particularly if you're at a fancy dinner party. There are some parts of the world where it's socially acceptable to spit in public, and it was once accepted in most of the West too. During the Middle Ages, Western Europeans found it less polite to "suck back" spit than to, well, spit. And spittoons, receptacles for spitting in, were common until the early 20th century, when the influenza epidemic and public health campaigns about tuberculosis greatly reduced public spitting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spit spat spitted spitting

Health trackers might spit out unreliable numbers, but doctors say they’re still useful for spotting personal trends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

But even I still get nervous sometimes when asking for a deal, feeling like I have to physically swallow my nerves just to spit the words out.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

It is in our nature to see something new and spit it out like we are 2 years old and PepsiCo has offered us a spoonful of broccoli.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

And if he has to spit in Hollywood’s face to save his own, well, apparently that’s fine too.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

She poured a mug of water from her favorite blue bottle, brushed her teeth above a clump of grass that needed the spit, and started her chores.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

What their computer model spat out was 28 potential caves in south-west Ireland which the team investigated.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

The Bank of Canada announces an interest-rate decision at 9:45 a.m., where its assessment of the U.S.-Canadian trade spat will be in focus.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Other delegates bristled that the spat between close allies was an unnecessary distraction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

These are not neutral bystanders being swept into a media spat.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

Boaz spat, and for a wild moment, Clara thought he might actually manage to break free; she’d never seen him so mad.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

That’s because the first preseason practice of the Kalen DeBoer era was greeted with a sudden bout of Pacific Northwest weather, as rain spitted on the turf inside Husky Stadium Thursday.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2022

The whole world is invited, as many reputations as possible are spitted and turned slowly over a sizzling fire, the fumes purposely wafted this way and that.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bringing a touch of Parisian gallantry to wilderness New York, he cried: "Never was a leg of mutton spitted with greater majesty."

From Time Magazine Archive

Defendant Browder instead chose to plead his own case, ably belabored the technical charge on which he was spitted.

From Time Magazine Archive

He raised his head slowly, looking across at the spitted chickens revolving before the low blue rotisserie flames.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

It warrants no qualifiers, no deeper thought, because Boy George clearly didn’t think too hard about it himself before spitting it out into the world.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Instead of spitting at them, the students greeted the white-veiled nuns with a warm “Shabbat Shalom!”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

They later identified Solomon as the suspect through a takeout order he was carrying when the spitting incident occurred and took him into custody at his apartment home nearby.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Keenan recalled how the witness spoke of him "spitting out words" and being "disproportionately angry" at times.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Theo is spitting seeds at Kareem, and Luis is smirking, but I don’t say anything.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

• drool
• hiss
• spew
• sputter