spattered; spattering; spatters
: to spurt forth in scattered drops
blood spattering everywhere
1
: to splash with or as if with a liquid
also
: to soil in this way
his coat was spattered with mud
2
: to scatter by or as if by splashing
spatter water
3
: to cover with or as if with splashes or spots
4
: to cast aspersions on : defame
spattered my reputation
1
a
: the act or process of spattering : the state of being spattered
b
: the noise of spattering
2
a
: a drop or splash spattered on something or a spot or stain due to spattering
b
: a small amount or number : sprinkle
a spatter of applause
Synonyms
Verb
Noun
Examples of spatter in a Sentence
Verb
The dog jumped in the pool and spattered us with water.
His clothes were spattered with paint.
When you cook bacon, the grease spatters everywhere.
He showed me how to use the paintbrush so the paint wouldn't spatter.
Noun
There were grease spatters all over the wall.
The floor was covered with spatters of paint.
There was a lot of paint spatter on the floor.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023
The city, interestingly, is now spattered with commemorative public art, including an impressionistic portrait of Mobutu, a.k.a.
—Michela Wrong, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2023
There were drawings scrawled on the wall, a desk spattered in paint.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
About a decade ago, China had a rambunctious feminist movement that staged protests like occupying a men’s restroom to demand more toilets for women, or marching in wedding dresses spattered with fake blood to draw attention to domestic violence.
—Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2023
In the bottom map of the trio above, the green spattered across the central US indicates up to a 30 percent rise in precipitation between the two time frames.
—WIRED, 20 Sep. 2023
He was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes spattered with white paint.
—Ralph Chapoco, al, 9 Aug. 2023
Her apartment was in disarray and blood was spattered on her bed and a wall.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 25 July 2023
The lunch counter was spattered and smeared, a Covid petri dish.
—Scott Johnson, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 July 2023
Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 21 Oct. 2023
The forensic minutiae are duly intriguing: Blood spatters are closely analyzed, timetables meticulously reconstructed.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
This one happens to run on digital blood spatter, bootleg CGI and japes about genitalia, but the animus behind these films is nostalgia for the kind of pounding marquee movies of the 1980s and ‘90s, when the men were muscly and the misogyny was cool with everyone.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023
This was all preceded by a small spatter cone of lava forming in the summit crater.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2023
There were no indications of blood spatter or other signs of violence, the lieutenant said.
—Taylor Romine, CNN, 1 Aug. 2023
Investigators also allegedly found a 9mm handgun and cleaning supplies containing blood spatter, the report states.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 4 Aug. 2023
The defense calls a crime scene analyst who, based on blood spatter, position of shots fired, and the fact that two different guns were used, says there was more than one shooter.
—CBS News, 4 Mar. 2023
There was a bloody pillow and blood spatter down the hallway, Houston said.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3 June 2023
See More
Verb
One little girl was heavily blood spattered and dazed.
—Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023
The city, interestingly, is now spattered with commemorative public art, including an impressionistic portrait of Mobutu, a.k.a.
—Michela Wrong, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2023
There were drawings scrawled on the wall, a desk spattered in paint.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
About a decade ago, China had a rambunctious feminist movement that staged protests like occupying a men’s restroom to demand more toilets for women, or marching in wedding dresses spattered with fake blood to draw attention to domestic violence.
—Kanis Leung, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2023
In the bottom map of the trio above, the green spattered across the central US indicates up to a 30 percent rise in precipitation between the two time frames.
—WIRED, 20 Sep. 2023
He was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes spattered with white paint.
—Ralph Chapoco, al, 9 Aug. 2023
Her apartment was in disarray and blood was spattered on her bed and a wall.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 25 July 2023
The lunch counter was spattered and smeared, a Covid petri dish.
—Scott Johnson, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 July 2023
Noun
Reports The next showed a close-up of the spatter, as well as an empty shelf.
—Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 21 Oct. 2023
The forensic minutiae are duly intriguing: Blood spatters are closely analyzed, timetables meticulously reconstructed.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
This one happens to run on digital blood spatter, bootleg CGI and japes about genitalia, but the animus behind these films is nostalgia for the kind of pounding marquee movies of the 1980s and ‘90s, when the men were muscly and the misogyny was cool with everyone.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023
This was all preceded by a small spatter cone of lava forming in the summit crater.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2023
There were no indications of blood spatter or other signs of violence, the lieutenant said.
—Taylor Romine, CNN, 1 Aug. 2023
Investigators also allegedly found a 9mm handgun and cleaning supplies containing blood spatter, the report states.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 4 Aug. 2023
The defense calls a crime scene analyst who, based on blood spatter, position of shots fired, and the fact that two different guns were used, says there was more than one shooter.
—CBS News, 4 Mar. 2023
There was a bloody pillow and blood spatter down the hallway, Houston said.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
akin to Frisian spatterje to spatter, Middle Dutch bespatten to splash
First Known Use
Verb
1600, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
1797, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near spatter
Cite this Entry
“Spatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spatter. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
spatter
1 of 2 verb
spat·ter
ˈspat-ər 
1
: to splash with drops or small bits of something wet
spatter the paper with paint
2
: to scatter by splashing
spattered mud all over my coat
spatter
2 of 2 noun1
: the act or sound of spattering
2
: a drop or splash spattered on something : a spot or stain due to spattering
More from Merriam-Webster on spatter
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share