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
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.
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
Despite being thrilled to have their recipes more accessible now, it's bittersweet to see mom’s and Frannie’s hand-written cards, most with smears, oil stains and other marks of splatter from years of use.
From Salon • Nov. 2, 2023
After India had added only one to their overnight 151-5, Scott Boland produced a nip-backer to splatter the stumps of Bharat and give the impression that Australia would hurry through the lower order.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2023
I have to approach this with care if I don’t want it to splatter all over my face.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
