spat
/spæt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.30 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
simple past and past participle of spit
noun
A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
noun
A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
Australian usage; British usage
noun
A drag-reducing aerodynamic fairing covering the upper portions of the tyres of an aeroplane equipped with non-retractable landing gear.
noun
A brief argument, falling out, quarrel.
Example Sentences
- "There was no sink in the room so we spat out the window."
- "If I had known you had a spittoon in the corner I would never have spat on the floor."
- "As spat-fall often occurs in areas away from environments suitable for oyster growing, the collection, transport and sale of oyster spat has developed into a separate industry."
- "But Orata’s oysters were, like the dormice and fish, collected in the wild, as spat."
- "Conditions in pearl oyster hatcheries are optimized for growth and survival of spat."
- "If the spat are allowed to remain attached to the tank bottom for more than two days, they are difficult to remove without damage to the shell."
Etymology
From Old English spittan, spætan.
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
- Root: spittan, spatium
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Australian usage
- British usage
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- American usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Astronomy.
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Frequently Paired Words
gaiter
mul:S