splatter
Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
-
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.
He noted the amount of paint splatter on Islas was uncommon for the weapon’s marking cartridges.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
“That way if anything does splatter, at least it will hit our chef jacket.”
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025
There was no trace of Yablonka, including any blood splatter.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 30, 2023
In interviews, some city sanitation workers described persistent safety concerns, such as coming into contact with carcasses of rabid dogs and acid splatter from batteries.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2023
Her Converse have some paint splatter on them.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
