spew

\ ˈspyü

How to pronounce spew (audio)

\

spewed; spewing; spews

Definition of spew

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

2 : to come forth in a flood or gush

3 : to ooze out as if under pressure : exude

transitive verb

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

spew

Definition of spew (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : matter that is vomited : vomit

2 : material that exudes or is extruded

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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 More intense wildfires spew dangerous smoke into the air, as documented in the western US this year. — Emily Holden, Scientific American, "Climate Change Is Having Widespread Health Impacts," 16 Sep. 2019 Italy’s Stromboli volcano erupted on Wednesday, spewing ash and a huge cloud of smoke into the air and sending tourists and residents running for shelter. — Time, "The Eruption of Italy's Stromboli Volcano Resulted in Some Harrowing Images From Nearby Tourists," 29 Aug. 2019 According to their modeling, ragweed alone spews 3.12 trillion grains of pollen across Detroit every year. — Lucas Joel, Quartz, "Detroit accidentally caused a pollen crisis by bulldozing the city’s abandoned areas," 15 Aug. 2019 Five years later, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded 40 miles offshore, spewing nearly 200 million gallons of crude. — Rocky Kistner, WIRED, "Gulf Fisheries Are Under Siege—Now Comes Tropical Storm Barry," 12 July 2019 And Laki, an ancient volcano in Iceland — which last erupted over 200 years ago, spewing a poisonous fog that smothered the globe for nearly a year — looks remarkably similar to a feature on Saturn’s moon Titan. — Quanta Magazine, "To Understand Volcanoes on Other Worlds, Stand On Our Own," 28 Aug. 2018 The money comes from a 2016 settlement with BP, which leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in April 2010, spewing an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. — Alex Stuckey, Houston Chronicle, "Deepwater Horizon settlement to help restore coast at McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge," 23 Apr. 2018 Image On January 28, 1969, an oil rig exploded off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., spewing three million gallons of crude oil into the ocean in one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the United States. — New York Times, "America Before Earth Day: Smog and Disasters Spurred the Laws Trump Wants to Undo," 21 Apr. 2018 But later on, a hyperactive swarm around growing plaques spews out inflammatory molecules. — Lauran Neergaard, chicagotribune.com, "Scientists rethink Alzheimer’s, diversifying the drug search," 11 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun His spew of hatred delights the guy on the other end of the line, Walter Beachway (Ryan Eggold), who invites Stallworth to come on down to meet some of the guys. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "Cannes Review: Spike Lee's BlackKklansman Is the Movie We Need Now—And It's Funny, Too," 15 May 2018 Asking good questions is an art, not some loudmouth anger spew. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Daugherty: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is a victim of his own success," 4 Jan. 2018 These kids burst into tears, spew insults, and even threaten to beat up Jimmy for encouraging their parents to act so cruelly. — Katelyn Lunders, Country Living, "Jimmy Kimmel's Annual Halloween Candy Bit Will Have You Crying From Laughter," 3 Nov. 2017 The vomiting pumpkin—in which green foam spews from a jack-o-lantern’s mouth—has become her signature effect. — Don Steinberg, WSJ, "The Female Scientist Who Wants to Blow Up Your TV," 5 Dec. 2018 Brown coal, a greasy, low-grade fuel also known as lignite, isn’t just controversial because of the greenhouse gases its burning spews into the atmosphere. — Michelle Hackman, WSJ, "Germany Finds Local Coal Filthy and Irresistible," 10 Oct. 2018 His spew of hatred delights the guy on the other end of the line, Walter Beachway (Ryan Eggold), who invites Stallworth to come on down to meet some of the guys. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "Cannes Review: Spike Lee's BlackKklansman Is the Movie We Need Now—And It's Funny, Too," 15 May 2018 These kids burst into tears, spew insults, and even threaten to beat up Jimmy for encouraging their parents to act so cruelly. — Katelyn Lunders, Country Living, "Jimmy Kimmel's Annual Halloween Candy Bit Will Have You Crying From Laughter," 3 Nov. 2017 Asking good questions is an art, not some loudmouth anger spew. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Daugherty: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is a victim of his own success," 4 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spew.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near spew

spewing sickness

Statistics for spew

Last Updated

1 Nov 2019

Time Traveler for spew

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

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