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
A park ranger noticed fresh paintball splatter on structures in the park Sunday, according to the park service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2024
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
Tuti looked at the reservation book and made a face like she’d just witnessed a flan de coco slip off her plate and splatter onto the floor.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
For all its lavishly detailed smashes and splatters, “Crush!” contains not one representation of something a human might use an iPad for; it contains no humans, full stop.
From New York Times ● Jun. 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
He described a vision of a painting he wanted to do with paint splatters, but he had never heard of Jackson Pollock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
“There appear to be splatters on your face shield.”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Every visitor must exit through the Blood Room, a gruesomely immersive space whose walls are streaked, smeared, splattered and practically dripping with the red stuff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
This week the meal box came with a container of harissa sauce splattered over its contents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Mohammad Rizwan had his stumps splattered by Carse and Abrar was absent from the ground, yet the prospect of a four-day finish literally slipped through England’s fingers.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
Today, the 2.4-acre parcel of oak forest, 100-foot-tall redwoods, crumbling stone stairways and mysterious man-made caverns splattered with fluorescent paint serves as a key wildlife passageway through the heart of the Hollywood Hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
It drummed on the roof, it splattered on the ground, it rattled softly among the trees.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
"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
Old Rihanna songs blasted as we decorated our canvases, and the room was already covered in paint, so we didn’t have to worry about spilling or splattering on any surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
Especially when frying, she added, removing liquid through even a light pressing helps prevent splattering.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2022
The fat droplets splattering the window blurred the trees around us, but Liam didn’t bother with the wipers.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
