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

And you can put stuff in a guy’s mouth and have him spit it out, but to really get a good projectile vomit, you need to have some sort of cannon apparatus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

LinkedIn is peppered with stories of job listings requiring candidates to take questionnaires or use specific words or phrases in cover letters, in order to avoid applications spit out by bots.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

These Heartland dads are rolling up their golf-shirt sleeves and getting spit up on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

It will test new, cutting-edge screening techniques such as fast MRI scans and genetic spit tests to find the best ways to detect the disease.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

“Thanks,” I manage to spit out to Lou Ann.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Sheinbaum later said at her daily press conference that the former official at the center of the spat, ex-prime minister Betssy Chavez, was being flown on Friday aboard a Mexican military plane to Mexico.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Authorities from throughout Southern California have faced a spat of e-bike and e-motorcycle incidents, including a teen who led Orange County law enforcement on a chase last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The ball skidded, spat and turned, but the eighth-wicket pair survived until Santner skipped one into Atkinson's back pad.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

A nasty spat over a huge collection of allegedly stolen Star Wars Lego sets has turned this quiet suburb upside down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The lamp in her hand hissed and spat.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

But the King had plenty for himself, his party, and for a banquet of spitted laham-mashwy and rice pilaff for the ship's officers.

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

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

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

Stocks are spitting out a smaller share of their returns in dividend income, a challenge for those who lean on steady cash flows to cover daily expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

With the biggest global opening weekend in history, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is cleaning up at the box office in a manner that left “The Odyssey” spitting sand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

She gets him within spitting distance of Downing Street just in time for her husband to dump her.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Thrust into a position that was not his, Bradley had to endure the jeers of frenzied aficionados at the start of his professional career, along with spitting and tossed coins.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

He felt like spitting it out but instead took a sip of water and forced himself to swallow.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Related Words

• drool
• hiss
• spew
• sputter