squirt
Americanverb (used without object)
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squirts,
present (3rd person singular)
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squirted,
past participle, past
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squirting
present participle
-
to eject liquid in a jet from a narrow orifice.
The hose squirted all over us.
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to eject a spurt of liquid.
The lemon squirted in my eye.
verb (used with object)
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squirts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
squirted,
past participle, past
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squirting
present participle
-
to cause (liquid or a viscous substance) to spurt or issue in a jet, as from a narrow orifice.
Squirt the water over that way!
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to wet or bespatter with a liquid or viscous substance so ejected.
to squirt someone with a hose.
noun
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squirts
plural
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the act of squirting.
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a spurt or jetlike stream, as of water.
- Synonyms:
- livestream, spray, jet
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a small quantity of liquid or viscous substance squirted.
Put a squirt of chocolate sauce on my ice cream.
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Informal.
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a youngster, especially a meddlesome or impudent one.
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a short person.
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an insignificant, self-assertive person, especially one who is small or young.
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an instrument for squirting, as a syringe.
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Dialect. Usually squirts. diarrhea.
verb
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to force (a liquid) or (of a liquid) to be forced out of a narrow opening
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(tr) to cover or spatter with liquid so ejected
noun
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a jet or amount of liquid so ejected
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the act or an instance of squirting
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an instrument used for squirting
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informal
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a person regarded as insignificant or contemptible
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a short person
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squirtsimple
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squirtssimple
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have squirtedperfect
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has squirtedperfect
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am squirtingprogressive
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are squirtingprogressive
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is squirtingprogressive
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have been squirtingperfect progressive
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has been squirtingperfect progressive
Past
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squirtedsimple
-
had squirtedperfect
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was squirtingprogressive
-
were squirtingprogressive
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had been squirtingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squirt
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English verb squirten, apparently variant of swirten; cognate with Low German swirtjen in the same sense; perhaps akin to swirl; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To squirt is to abruptly squeeze a liquid out of something. When you spend the day at the beach, you might squirt sunblock on your arms or squirt ketchup on the fries you bought at the snack bar. Octopuses and squid use their ability to squirt black ink to confuse their predators. Most kids enjoy using squirt guns to squirt each other with water. In both cases, the discharge itself can be called a squirt. If someone calls you a squirt, however, they mean that you're an insignificant and possibly annoying person: "Get lost, squirt! You're bothering me!"
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:
Or China, where the long back straight is followed by a hairpin, a short squirt to the final corner, and then the pit straight.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
At highway speeds, the sedan’s sharp reflexes and deep reserves of squirt create significant moral temptation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
A squirt of dish soap, a cup of hot water, a few pulses, a quick brush.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2026
Unlike the sea squirt, both the lamprey and the frog produced many more versions of proteins from individual signaling output genes.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 4, 2026
Tiny gas jets allowed compressed air to squirt out under this base, causing it to rise a fraction of an inch off the surface, so that the machine floated on a cushion of air.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
You can also add a few squirts of TJ’s Sriracha Sauce, just before adding the seasoning packet, for a spicy kick.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2025
To construct a house, the Vulcan II squirts out layer after layer of the house’s walls onto the base.
From NewsForKids.net ● May 10, 2024
These tools are easily available, Sullivan said, “but people don’t often read the instructions. They think if one squirt works, two squirts are better. That’s not the case.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Almost all sea squirts are hermaphrodites, as they produce both male and female germ cells.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
She intended to steal only a few squirts.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
After Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar greeted him with singles to put runners at the corners, Pozo squirted a two-out single over the infield to score pinch-runner Garrett Hampson for the go-ahead run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
Whipped cream squirted from an aerosol can is often called "skooshy cream" north of the border.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2025
McIlroy was within two shots of Schauffele, but his fairway wood out of the bunker on the par-5 15th caught sand and the ball squirted off to the right about 50 yards away.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
The information contained in a paper return could be squirted over a modem as a series of 0’s and 1’s, obviating the need to kill trees and race to the post office.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2024
When they finished picking all the ripe peas, Ernie took the water hose, squirted their hands clean, then sprayed a mist into the air.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
For days before his PortaSplit arrived, he had resorted to squirting water on his face to keep cool at home.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Frustrated locals have often staged protests around it, sometimes squirting tourists with water guns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
They ranged from multiple 24-second violations to lost rebounds to a ball squirting through James’ hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2025
This revealed that the seed projection method of the squirting cucumber has been fine-tuned to ensure near-optimal dispersal and the success of the plant over generations.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
Kuda and Trashman were taking turns squirting each other.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
