splatter
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
splatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
splattered,
past participle, past
-
splattering
present participle
noun
-
splatters
plural
-
an act or instance of splattering.
-
the quantity splattered.
to wipe up a splatter of ketchup on the rug.
adjective
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
splattersimple
-
splatterssimple
-
have splatteredperfect
-
has splatteredperfect
-
am splatteringprogressive
-
are splatteringprogressive
-
is splatteringprogressive
-
have been splatteringperfect progressive
-
has been splatteringperfect progressive
Past
-
splatteredsimple
-
had splatteredperfect
-
was splatteringprogressive
-
were splatteringprogressive
-
had been splatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splatter
Explanation
In horror movies, you'll see a lot of blood splattering on walls. Ick. To splatter is to splash liquid. A splatter is also the spot the liquid makes. When you spill some liquid on the ground, the sound it makes is splat. Splash a lot of it, and you have a splatter — drops of the liquid across a large area. If you are frying meat in a hot pan, the grease will splatter across the stove and counter near it. In the figurative use, gossip about a celebrity's mishaps is often splattered throughout a gossip magazine like spilled milk on a floor.
Vocabulary lists containing splatter
Holes
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Salt to the Sea
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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:
The remarkable Ms. Weaving is a contender for Australian Scream Queen, but few would expect Mr. Segel, a Judd Apatow mainstay, to star in a splatter comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Obeid has become a key logistics hub for the Sudanese army, and incessant attacks from UAV-stalked skies push soldiers to splatter mud on vehicles to obscure them from drone optics.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
Yet, it’s disappointment that Perkins serves up most frequently in “The Monkey,” detouring from every wide-open chance to showcase depth and humanity in favor of juvenile humor and gross-out splatter gags.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
There was no trace of Yablonka, including any blood splatter.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
Another cluttered, seething breath sounded over the endless rain splatter.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
From the crevice of his ear to the shoelaces on his Converse sneakers, he’s covered entirely in unintentional paint splatters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2024
Sound came out of his horn in splatters and whistles, with a blend of playfulness and deep spirit that made it clear that the vessel he used mattered little.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
Next comes the primal sight - a full and swinging delivery from Wood that splatters the stumps.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
Thomas says a backsplash can add visual interest to your kitchen and protect your walls from spills and splatters.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
One of them breaks and splatters the stone with yellow.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
This week the meal box came with a container of harissa sauce splattered over its contents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Some, such as a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, were splattered in paint by protesters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
Names splattered in from leftfield, a free-form approach to positions, a delicious cheese-dream of a bench – a side picked like Jackson Pollock paints.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
He watched firefighting helicopters and airplanes make laps past thick red streaks of fire retardant splattered on mountainsides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2024
The seconds slithered forward until Fig’s dinner splattered onto the carpet in a pile of brownish sludge.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
"There are thousands of them together, all coughing and splattering," Bamford said, adding that the seals are also particularly "snotty".
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
Removing the moisture minimizes splattering as they fry.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
More than a dozen protagonists jostled against one another in a colonial gold mining town in 1860s New Zealand, kicking up dust, splattering guts and digging up the earth to make its riches their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
Especially when frying, she added, removing liquid through even a light pressing helps prevent splattering.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2022
He was soaking wet, leaving water in a splattering trail behind him.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
