as in stabbing
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
according to the propaganda put out by the war ministry, enemy soldiers were spitting innocent babies on bayonets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of spitting
Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 26 Mar. 2026
Police accused Arianna Skye Foster, his 21-year-old girlfriend of spitting at a driver, dousing another with pepper spray and throwing rocks and pieces of brick at vehicles, according to documents.
—Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
By nature, llamas are smart, protective, and sometimes stubborn, earning them a reputation as mean creatures and for spitting on people.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Carolyn and Lauren are only glad Ann couldn’t make it, lest someone start spitting bars.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
So people were spitting them out.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
Multiple teens on e-bikes insulted a student with anti-Black racial slurs and spitting, and one of the suspects injured the back leg of the victim with the tire of an e-bike, campus police said.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Scroll on for spitting-image rollneck sweaters up to $78 less than the original, as well as other styles inspired by the look.
—Annie Blackman, InStyle, 5 Mar. 2026
Some of the pending charges involve low-level felonies and include allegations of battery against police officers, including a University of Chicago professor who is accused of spitting at a trooper.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
Because who wouldn’t want to join a religion seemingly spitting out beautiful women?
—Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 26 Mar. 2026
Police accused Arianna Skye Foster, his 21-year-old girlfriend of spitting at a driver, dousing another with pepper spray and throwing rocks and pieces of brick at vehicles, according to documents.
—Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
By nature, llamas are smart, protective, and sometimes stubborn, earning them a reputation as mean creatures and for spitting on people.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2026
Carolyn and Lauren are only glad Ann couldn’t make it, lest someone start spitting bars.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
So people were spitting them out.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
Multiple teens on e-bikes insulted a student with anti-Black racial slurs and spitting, and one of the suspects injured the back leg of the victim with the tire of an e-bike, campus police said.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 11 Mar. 2026
Scroll on for spitting-image rollneck sweaters up to $78 less than the original, as well as other styles inspired by the look.
—Annie Blackman, InStyle, 5 Mar. 2026
Some of the pending charges involve low-level felonies and include allegations of battery against police officers, including a University of Chicago professor who is accused of spitting at a trooper.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spitting
Verb
-
Two teenagers are facing charges in connection to a Hackensack, New Jersey, stabbing that sent one of them to the hospital.—
CBS New York Team,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
According to Prescott, Walker appeared intent on stabbing the policeman before he was shot.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
While his peers aimed to achieve maximum tension by barking about capitalism over jabbing, if not outright obnoxious, guitars, Shaw scrapped layer after layer—distortion pedals, crash cymbals, eventually the drum machine itself—to crystalize his band’s own sound.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The victim tried to flee, but a witness who saw the altercation told police that the suspects made jabbing motions towards the victim’s body.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year.—
Mary Wasson,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Asymmetrical, drippy French tips are a fun vibe to try for this holiday.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The 6-foot-1 guard followed up his 36-point night against the Hawks by picking the Hornets apart with paint jumpers, going 8-for-10 in the paint with just one shot inside the restricted area.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Even if the Broncos trust Dobbins to become durable, picking his successor is logical.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Yet the film also exits on a note of extreme sublimity, courtesy of a final-shot callback puncturing the realism that’s defined Late Shift up to that point.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Traditionally, Oscars hosts have been at their best when puncturing the pretensions of the stars in attendance, but for the most part, host Conan O’Brien bought into their sense of their own righteousness.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
To the left of Castor and Pollux lies the constellation Cancer, the crab, the core of which plays host to the 100-strong stellar population of the Beehive Cluster (M44), which is visible as a small, misty patch of light on moonless nights.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Other images similarly mix the romantic and the mundane, with glamorous students in front of kitschy backdrops of misty woodlands or positioned between towering candelabras.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But tungsten prices are particularly volatile during wartime – it’s used in armor-piercing artillery.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The ongoing investigation, led by Reisig, is sprawling, involving dozens of search warrants and arrests in Los Angeles County and Crescent City aimed at piercing the black-market world of fireworks that fueled the blast.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Members picketed outside the shipyard Monday in cold and drizzly weather.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The trench doubles as a raincoat and features a detachable hood to keep your hair safe and sound on drizzly days.—
Annie Blackman,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spitting. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
