Spat

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spæt/
• Rhymes: -æt

Old English spittan, spætan

Verb

1. spat

   (past of spit)
   There was no sink in the room so we spat out the window.If I had known you had a spittoon in the corner I would never have spat on the floor.

Of uncertain origin; perhaps related to spit.

Full definition of spat

Noun

1. The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters and similar molluscs.
• 2005, TVR Pillay & MN Kutty, Aquaculture: Principles and practices, p. 525:As spat-fall often occurs in areas away from environments suitable for oyster growing, the collection, transport and sale of oyster spat has developed into a separate industry.

Verb

1. (ambitransitive) To spawn. Used of shellfish as above.

Shortening of spatterdash, from spatter + dash. 1779.

Noun

1. A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
2. (automotive) (UK, Australia) A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.

Synonyms

• (automotive) fender skirt (US)

1804. American English, unknown origin.

Noun

1. a brief argument, falling out, quarrel

Verb

1. to quarrel or argue briefly

Attested from 1823.

Noun

1. A light blow with something flat.

Verb

1. (transitive and intransitive) To strike with a spattering sound.
• 1922, B. M. Bower, The Trail of the White Mule, ch. 3:He felt the wind of a second bullet that spatted against a boulder near Barney.
• 2007, Nolan Clay, "Co-workers testify about Kelsey's mother," Daily Oklahoman, 13 July, (retrieved 25 Aug. 2009):"She mentioned she had spatted Kelsey on her diaper with a hairbrush," said Mildred Johnson, a co-worker.
2. (US, dialect) To slap, as with the open hand; to clap together, as the hands.
• Sylvester JuddLittle Isabel leaped up and down, spatting her hands.

Latin spatium ("space")

Noun

1. An obsolete unit of distance in astronomy (symbol S), equal to one billion kilometres.

Anagrams

• APTS
• past
• pats
• stap
• taps