SPIT (spat, spitted, spitting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: spat    , spitted    , spitting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spit mean? 

• SPIT (noun)
  The noun SPIT has 4 senses:

1. a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea

2. a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches

3. a skewer for holding meat over a fire

4. the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)

  Familiarity information: SPIT used as a noun is uncommon.

• SPIT (verb)
  The verb SPIT has 4 senses:

1. expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth

2. utter with anger or contempt

3. rain gently

4. drive a skewer through

  Familiarity information: SPIT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

spit; tongue

Hypernyms ("spit" is a kind of...):

cape; ness (a strip of land projecting into a body of water)

Meronyms (substance of "spit"):

sand (a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

saliva; spit; spittle

Hypernyms ("spit" is a kind of...):

secretion (a functionally specialized substance (especially one that is not a waste) released from a gland or cell)

Meronyms (substance of "spit"):

ptyalin (an amylase secreted in saliva)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spit"):

dribble; drivel; drool; slobber (saliva spilling from the mouth)

tobacco juice (saliva colored brown by tobacco (snuff or chewing tobacco))

Holonyms ("spit" is a part of...):

salivary gland (any of three pairs of glands in the mouth and digestive system that secrete saliva for digestion)

Derivation:

spit (expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A skewer for holding meat over a fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("spit" is a kind of...):

skewer (a long pin for holding meat in position while it is being roasted)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spit"):

brochette (a small spit or skewer)

turnspit (a roasting spit that can be turned)

Holonyms ("spit" is a part of...):

rack; stand (a support for displaying various articles)

Derivation:

spit (drive a skewer through)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

expectoration; spit; spitting

Hypernyms ("spit" is a kind of...):

ejection; expulsion; forcing out; projection (the act of expelling or projecting or ejecting)

Derivation:

spit (expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth)

• SPIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they spit    ... he / she / it spits   
Past simple: spat    / spit    / spitted   
Past participle: spat    / spit    / spitted   
-ing form: spitting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

ptyalise; ptyalize; spew; spit; spue

Context example:

The father of the victim spat at the alleged murderer

Hypernyms (to "spit" is one way to...):

cough out; cough up; expectorate; spit out; spit up (discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The women spit water into the bowl

Also:

spit up (discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth)

spit up (give reluctantly)

Derivation:

spit (the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva))

spit (a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches)

spitter (a person who spits (ejects saliva or phlegm from the mouth))

spitting (the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Utter with anger or contempt

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

spit; spit out

Hypernyms (to "spit" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Rain gently

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

patter; pitter-patter; spatter; spit; sprinkle

Context example:

It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick

Hypernyms (to "spit" is one way to...):

rain; rain down (precipitate as rain)

Sentence frame:

It is ----ing

Sense 4

Meaning:

Drive a skewer through

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

skewer; spit

Context example:

skewer the meat for the BBQ

Hypernyms (to "spit" is one way to...):

pin (pierce with a pin)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

spit (a skewer for holding meat over a fire)

 Context examples 

So he cut off her head, and as she was being dressed for the spit, the queen’s ring was found inside her.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“You seem to have a lot to say,” remarked Silver, spitting far into the air.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

At the sight of it, he spat into the hole.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

To clear material from the throat or lungs by coughing it up and spitting it out.

(Expectorate, NCI Thesaurus)

Neither is there any remedy; because it is capital for those, who receive an audience to spit or wipe their mouths in his majesty’s presence.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Then at last he broke out at me, spitting and cursing, with murder in his eyes and a great clasp-knife in his hand.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Coughing or spitting up blood from the respiratory tract.

(Hemoptysis, NCI Dictionary)

He was a very valiant man, but at the battle of Brignais he was spitted through the body by a Hainault man-at-arms.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And it was all done long ago; it was work performed, I tell you, when you spat upon me as the dirt under your feet.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

If all these people came in a body and spat at me, what would you do, Jane?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)