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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
To top it all off, companies such as Razer find ways to squeeze RGB lights into unnecessary places so that devices spew out rainbows. Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 18 Nov. 2024 Politicians spewing vile rhetoric rather than proposing remedies that unite more than divide. Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
With most airlines no longer providing the spew sacks as standard, this community of hobbyists are the people to turn to when times get rough. Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 3 Aug. 2024 That’s a persuasive contrast in Rose’s favor, but the contrast working against him is between the words the gregarious Rose spews and the truth. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for spew 

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 2 Dec. 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!