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
Matthew DessemIf 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
Brad AveryWhen 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
Thrillist EntertainmentCollege prices have long provoked headshaking, but in recent years they've been more likely to cause a spit-take.—Michael Rubiner
Michael RubinerExamples of spit take in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On TV, the spit take was left on the cutting room floor.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
No one gave him a hard time; no one did a spit take when the elevator doors opened.
—Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
Buy Now Essential Reading for Pride: PEOPLE Picks Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Books For Adults
13 of 20
'Happy-Go-Lucky' by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is one of our greatest living essayists, and never fails to elicit both spit takes and tears, sometimes both at the same time.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 29 June 2024
Los Angeles Times Here’s a story ripe for a spit take: Water systems in California and across the U.S. are vulnerable to both physical and cyber attacks.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2023
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
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Jordan Moreau, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025
No one gave him a hard time; no one did a spit take when the elevator doors opened.
—Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
Buy Now Essential Reading for Pride: PEOPLE Picks Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Books For Adults
13 of 20
'Happy-Go-Lucky' by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is one of our greatest living essayists, and never fails to elicit both spit takes and tears, sometimes both at the same time.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 29 June 2024
Los Angeles Times Here’s a story ripe for a spit take: Water systems in California and across the U.S. are vulnerable to both physical and cyber attacks.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2023
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
Cite this Entry
“Spit take.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spit%20take. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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