spew

1 of 2

verb

spewed; spewing; spews

intransitive verb

1
: vomit
2
: to come forth in a flood or gush
3
: to ooze out as if under pressure : exude

transitive verb

1
: vomit
2
: to send or cast forth with vigor or violence or in great quantity
a volcano spewing out ash
often used with out
spewer noun

spew

2 of 2

noun

1
: matter that is vomited : vomit
2
: material that exudes or is extruded

Examples of spew in a Sentence

Verb Exhaust spewed out of the car. Smoke and ashes spewed from the volcano. The volcano spewed hot ash. The faucet started spewing dirty water. The dog spewed vomit on the rug.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Last month, Colorado’s air pollution control division announced a $10.5 million settlement with the refinery over excessive amounts of toxic chemicals spewed into the air over three years. Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Related article Iceland volcano erupts again, molten rocks spew from fissures Located just under an hour’s drive from Iceland’s capital and largest city Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Catherine Nicholls, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 In late January, a broken pipe at a nearby oil refinery sent a mix of oil, gas and water spewing onto a street a mile from Aguilar’s neighborhood. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 The plumes from large volcanic explosions typically contain a lot of sulfur — the same culprit that spews from ship smokestacks. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024 But a nonmilitary American satellite took a picture on April 29, 1986, showing that the reactor’s core had ruptured in a fiery breach that was spewing deadly radioactive debris into the atmosphere. William J. Broad, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Some years back, Stewart read a memoir that seemed to magically spew onto the page all that was cohering in her mind. Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2024 Trees are felled to make their paper and gas-powered vehicles spew carbon to deliver them. Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024 In other air pollution news, Tony reports that an L.A. County supervisor is urging a landfill operator to pay for the relocation of nearby residents as an underground garbage fire spews noxious fumes. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
Noun
On the one hand are the outrageous lies that Donald Trump customarily spews. Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024 Trump spews hate — hate of immigrants and of Democrats. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2023 But if the two faucets are running full blast, the G and DM valves get overwhelmed, and water spews over the tub’s sides into excess inflation. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 May 2023 When threatened, the catalpa sphinx caterpillar spews out green goo and thrashes around violently. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023 Norfolk Southern, the US railway company responsible for the toxic spew of vinyl chloride, has now offered a $25,000 donation to assist the area’s nearly 5,000 residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes, or face death. Julia Malleck, Quartz, 9 Feb. 2023 The spew was everywhere. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 Take the president’s mind-numbing spew of lies. New York Times, 6 Oct. 2020 Researchers say the 1257 mystery spew is comparable in scope to a second-century AD eruption in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand, known as the most intense historic volcanic event. Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2013

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spew.' 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

Middle English, from Old English spīwan; akin to Old High German spīwan to spit, Latin spuere, Greek ptyein

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of spew was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near spew

Cite this Entry

“Spew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spew. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spew

1 of 2 verb
: to send or come out in a flood or gush

spew

2 of 2 noun
: matter that is spewed out

More from Merriam-Webster on spew

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