spit take

noun

variants or spit-take
plural spit takes or spit-takes
informal
: the act of spitting out one's drink in response to something funny or surprising especially for comedic effect
Whether you're grading on difficulty or execution, this spit take is nearly a perfect ten. [Stephen] Colbert maintains a perfect 25-degree angle-of-spew throughout the duration—nearly an entire second—while effortlessly hitting the kind of water throughput levels more commonly seen in aqueduct design than comedy sketches.Matthew Dessem
If this morning's news had you doing a spit take over your morning coffee, don't worry, Keurig Dr Pepper is happy to sell you another cup.Brad Avery
When his name is announced as a best director nominee, Tarantino performs an epic spit-take, proving that the wanton spraying of bodily fluids is a personal proclivity as well as a cinematic one.Thrillist Entertainment
College prices have long provoked headshaking, but in recent years they've been more likely to cause a spit-take.Michael Rubiner

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Social media treated it like the Zapruder film, as users dissected and looked at different angles of the video and offered their own – ahem – spit take. Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spit take was in 1971

Dictionary Entries Near spit take

Cite this Entry

“Spit take.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spit%20take. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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