spitting distance

Save This Word!

See synonyms for spitting distance on Thesaurus.com

noun

a short space or distance

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby spitting distance

spitsticker, spit take, Spitteler, spitter, spitting cobra, spitting distance, spitting image, spitting snake, spittle, spittlebug, spittle insect

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

How to use spitting distance in a sentence

Their leader, Njie, still going by “Dave” during the operation, would stay a safe distance away until the State House was secure.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You cannot take your eyes off her for the entire film, as she vamps about, chewing up scenery and spitting out hearts.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The level of outside support… has not been sufficient enough for them to distance themselves from al Nusra,” Cafarella said.
ISIS Fight Has a Spy Shortage, Intel Chair Says|Kimberly Dozier|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The younger brother would try everything in his power from a distance to subdue the roaring flames of passion.
Decoding Vincent Van Gogh’s Tempestuous, Fragile Mind|Nick Mafi|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

How much distance was there between the two men when Brown was shot?
Ferguson’s Grand Jury Bought Darren Wilson’s Story|Paul Campos|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Off went the officers again, some distance to the front, and then back again to their men, and got them on a little further.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Distance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of China.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
And the others, not knowing that he had that day repented, sat at their distance and tried to form no conclusion.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
We see the whole land, even if but at a distance, instead of being limited merely to the spot where our foot treads.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay

Other Idioms and Phrases with spitting distance

spitting distance

A very short distance, as in We were in spitting distance of winning the pennant but then we lost three games in a row. Alluding to the relatively short distance over which one's spit will carry, this idiom was first recorded in 1895 as within spitting range.

spitting distance

Words nearby spitting distance

Words related to spitting distance

How to use spitting distance in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with spitting distance