: a cloth or leather gaiter covering the instep and ankle
1
chiefly dialectal
: slap entry 2
2
: a brief petty quarrel or angry outburst
a lovers' spat
3
: a sound like that of rain falling in large drops
spatted; spatting
chiefly dialectal
: slap
1
: to quarrel pettily or briefly
2
: to strike with a sound like that of rain falling in large drops
Synonyms
Noun (3)
- altercation
- argle-bargle [chiefly British]
- argument
- argy-bargy [chiefly British]
- battle royal
- bicker
- brawl
- contretemps
- controversy
- cross fire
- disagreement
- dispute
- donnybrook
- falling-out
- fight
- hassle
- imbroglio
- kickup
- misunderstanding
- quarrel
- rhubarb
- row
- scrap
- set-to
- squabble
- tiff
- wrangle
Verb
Examples of spat in a Sentence
Noun (3)
like any couple, they have their spats
Verb
They were typical sisters, spatting one minute, playing together the next.
we tend to spat over money more than anything else
Recent Examples on the Web
Kevin Roose, New York Times, 4 June 2024
Sometimes the best solution to combating in-the-moment spats of anxiety is to simply accept the feeling.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 27 May 2024
In many ways, the spat over the convention is reminiscent of the meme that sees three Spider-Mans in a standoff pointing at each other, because the Libertarian Party, Kennedy and Trump are all competing for this same pool of voters.
—Stephen Fowler, NPR, 25 May 2024
The spat with Johansson comes at a tricky time for OpenAI, which is facing litigation from media companies, authors and artists for allegedly using their materials without consent or compensation.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for spat 
Noun
And its recent unveiling of a hyper-realistic voice assistant was marred by a public spat with the Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, who claimed that OpenAI had imitated her voice without permission.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 4 June 2024
Sometimes the best solution to combating in-the-moment spats of anxiety is to simply accept the feeling.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 27 May 2024
In many ways, the spat over the convention is reminiscent of the meme that sees three Spider-Mans in a standoff pointing at each other, because the Libertarian Party, Kennedy and Trump are all competing for this same pool of voters.
—Stephen Fowler, NPR, 25 May 2024
The spat with Johansson comes at a tricky time for OpenAI, which is facing litigation from media companies, authors and artists for allegedly using their materials without consent or compensation.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for spat
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to spat
Dictionary Entries Near spat
Cite this Entry
“Spat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spat. Accessed 12 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spat
2 of 5 noun
plural spat or spats
: a young oyster
spat
3 of 5 noun
: a cloth or leather covering for the instep and ankle
spat
4 of 5 noun1
: a brief unimportant quarrel : dispute
2
: a sound like that of rain falling in large drops
spat
5 of 5 verb
spatted; spatting
1
: to have a spat : quarrel
2
: to strike with a sound like that of rain falling in large drops
Etymology
Noun
origin unknown
Noun
a shortened form of spatterdash "a protective covering for the ankle or leg"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share