spat Definition

spat¹ past tense, past participle of spit¹

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spat² (colloq)
noun

1. A splash or droplet of water, etc.

Example: a few spits and spats of rain
2. A trivial or petty fight or quarrel.

Thesaurus: disagreement, quarrel, dispute, difference, tiff, scrap.

verb

intr
spatted, spatting
1. To engage in a trivial or petty fight or quarrel.

Etymology: Early 19c.

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spat³
noun

1. historical
A cloth covering that goes around the ankle and over the top of a shoe, originally to protect against splashes of mud and latterly, especially in the US in the 1920s and 1930s, as a fashion accessory.
Form: spats (usually)
2. A covering for the upper part of the wheel of an aircraft.

Etymology: Early 19c: an abbreviation of the obsolete spatterdash which was a type of long gaiter for protecting the trousers from mud splashes.

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spat⁴
noun

1. The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters.

verb

spatted, spatting
1. Said of oysters: to spawn.

Etymology: 17c.

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spit¹
verb spat (past tense, past participle), spit, spitting (present participle)

tr & intr
1a. To expel (saliva or phlegm) from the mouth;
intr
1b. To do this as a gesture of contempt.

Example: spat in his face
2. To eject (eg food) forcefully out of the mouth.

Form: spit out (also)
3. Said of a fire, fat or oil in a pan, etc: to throw off (a spark of hot coal, oil, etc) in a spurt or spurts.
4. To speak or utter with contempt, hate, violence, etc.
intr
5. Said of rain or snow: to fall in light intermittent drops or flakes.
6. Said especially of a cat: to make a hissing noise in anger, hostility, aggression, etc.

noun

1. Spittle; a blob of saliva or phlegm that has been spat from the mouth.
2. An act of spitting.

Derivative: spitter
noun

Derivative: spitting
noun, adj

Idiom: be (with)in spitting distance (of) (lie etc (with)in spitting distance (of))

To be very close by.
Example: The flat's within spitting distance of the office

Idiom: the spit (the very spit)

colloq
An exact likeness; a spitting image.
Example: She's the very spit of her mother

Idiom: spit blood

To be utterly furious.

Idiom: spit it out

colloq
Usually said as a command: to say what one has been hesitating to say
Example: Come on, spit it out! Are you saying I'm a liar?

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon spittan.