spatter

1 of 2

verb

spat·​ter ˈspa-tər How to pronounce spatter (audio)
spattered; spattering; spatters

intransitive verb

: to spurt forth in scattered drops
blood spattering everywhere

transitive verb

1
: to splash with or as if with a liquid
also : to soil in this way
his coat was spattered with mud
2
: to scatter by or as if by splashing
spatter water
3
: to cover with or as if with splashes or spots
4
: to cast aspersions on : defame
spattered my reputation

spatter

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: the act or process of spattering : the state of being spattered
b
: the noise of spattering
2
a
: a drop or splash spattered on something or a spot or stain due to spattering
b
: a small amount or number : sprinkle
a spatter of applause

Examples of spatter in a Sentence

Verb The dog jumped in the pool and spattered us with water. His clothes were spattered with paint. When you cook bacon, the grease spatters everywhere. He showed me how to use the paintbrush so the paint wouldn't spatter. Noun There were grease spatters all over the wall. The floor was covered with spatters of paint. There was a lot of paint spatter on the floor.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Advertisement Blood was spattered on a wall and the bed, items were scattered everywhere and Nickens was dead, lying facedown on the floor, according to the prosecutor’s brief. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 23 July 2023 Much of both videos centered on talking about, or zooming in on, stains on the garage floor and spatter on a black SUV in the garage that appeared to be blood. Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 12 Jan. 2024 Footage showed protesters igniting smoke devices in the street and spattering fake blood on the property. Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 His artworks often place people in cosmic settings, framed by rings of starlight conjured by spattering bleach on the black fabric. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2023 Los Angeles police have launched an investigation into a protest Thursday at the Brentwood home of the president of a pro-Israeli lobbying group, with footage on social media showing protesters igniting smoke devices in the street and spattering fake blood on the property. Matthew Ormseth, Melody Petersen, and Angie Orellana Hernandez Los Angeles Times (tns), arkansasonline.com, 26 Nov. 2023 Those who fail, by moving when they are supposed to be frozen, are eliminated faux-execution-style; tiny squibs explode under their shirts, spattering them with black ink. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023 One little girl was heavily blood spattered and dazed. Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023 The city, interestingly, is now spattered with commemorative public art, including an impressionistic portrait of Mobutu, a.k.a. Michela Wrong, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2023
Noun
Don't fill the blender more than halfway (work in batches), as the steam can build up pressure and spatter. Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 25 Jan. 2024 Cantu’s attorneys didn’t ask for the help of an expert in DNA, ballistics, fingerprint examination, blood spatter or forensic medicine, as prosecutors did. Albinson Linares, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024 The bloodshed returns after another 11-year hiatus, but the spatter is messier, thicker, and darker, seeping into a new vision by Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Michael Lee Simpson, EW.com, 25 Oct. 2023 At Tesla’s Fremont factory, investigators also found welding spatter waste, waste paint mix cups, and wipes / debris contaminated with primer unlawfully chucked into the trash. Justine Calma, The Verge, 3 Feb. 2024 So, Steve Ducote asked the Jefferson Parish Crime Lab to examine the evidence and check for suspicious blood spatter on Dustin's clothing. David Begnaud, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2024 Casseroles and desserts can still bubble over, but greasy spatters in the oven are far less likely. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023 Reports The next showed a close-up of the spatter, as well as an empty shelf. Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 21 Oct. 2023 The forensic minutiae are duly intriguing: Blood spatters are closely analyzed, timetables meticulously reconstructed. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

akin to Frisian spatterje to spatter, Middle Dutch bespatten to splash

First Known Use

Verb

1600, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of spatter was in 1600

Dictionary Entries Near spatter

Cite this Entry

“Spatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spatter. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spatter

1 of 2 verb
spat·​ter ˈspat-ər How to pronounce spatter (audio)
1
: to splash with drops or small bits of something wet
spatter the paper with paint
2
: to scatter by splashing
spattered mud all over my coat

spatter

2 of 2 noun
1
: the act or sound of spattering
2
: a drop or splash spattered on something : a spot or stain due to spattering

More from Merriam-Webster on spatter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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