spit
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spit¹
- /spɪt/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɪt
Where it comes from
The noun is from Middle English spit, spite, spete, spette, spyte, spytte (“rod on which meat is cooked; rod used as a torture instrument; short spear; point of a spear; spine in the fin of a fish; pointed object; dagger symbol; land projecting into the sea”), from Old English spitu (“rod on which meat is cooked; spit”), from Proto-Germanic *spitō (“rod; skewer; spike”), *spituz (“rod on which meat is cooked; stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *speyd-, *spey- (“sharp; sharp stick”). The English word is cognate with Dutch spit, Low German Spitt (“pike, spear; spike; skewer; spit”), Danish spid, Swedish spett (“skewer; spit; type of crowbar”).
The verb is derived from the noun, or from Middle English spiten (“to put on a spit; to impale”), from spit, spite: see above. The English verb is cognate with Middle Dutch speten, spitten (modern Dutch speten), Middle Low German speten (Low German spitten, modern German spießen (“to skewer, to spear”), spissen (now dialectal)) and Danish spidde.
noun spits
-
A thin metal or wooden rod on which meat is skewered for cooking, often over a fire.
They roaſt a fowl, by running a piece of wood through it, by way of ſpit, and holding it over a briſk fire, until the feathers are burnt of, when it is ready for eating, in their taſte.
Similar: broach
- A generally low, narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula or bar. Sand-spits are unfinished beaches, and long tongues or points of land, formed of sand and shingle, by the transporting action of currents and the waves. In Coldspring harbor, a sand-spit extends from the west shore, obliquely, nearly across. [...] The materials are transported by the currents and wa
verb spits · spitting · spitted
- To impale on a spit; to pierce with a sharp object. to spit a loin of veal
- To use a spit to cook; to attend to food that is cooking on a spit. She’s spitting the roast in the kitchen.
spit²
- /spɪt/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɪt
Where it comes from
The verb is from Middle English spē̆ten, spete (“to spit (blood, phlegm, saliva, venom, etc.); of a fire: to emit sparks”), from Old English spǣtan (“to spit; to squirt”); or from Middle English spit, spitte, spitten (“to spit (blood, phlegm, saliva, venom, etc.); of a fire: to emit sparks”), from Old English spittan, spyttan (“to spit”), both from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European *sp(y)ēw, *spyū, ultimately imitative; compare Middle English spitelen (“to spit out, expectorate”) and English spew. The English word is cognate with Danish spytte (“to spit”), North Frisian spütte, Norwegian spytte (“to spit”), Swedish spotta (“to spit”), Old Norse spýta (Faroese spýta (“to spit”), Icelandic spýta (“to spit”)).
The noun is derived from the verb; compare Danish spyt (“spit”), Middle English spit, spytte (“saliva, spittle, sputum”), spet (“saliva, spittle”), spē̆tel (“saliva, spittle”), North Frisian spiit.
verb spits · spitting · spat · spit · spitten
-
To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc.
And they ſpit upon him [Jesus Christ], and tooke the reed, and ſmote him on the head.
Similar: expectorate
- To emit or expel in a manner similar to evacuating saliva from the mouth. a hot pan spitting droplets of fat
- To rain or snow slightly. "There! now, Strickland, I know all about what you intend to say, and therefore need not be told; but see, it spits with rain, 'tis late, Graham's turned in, let's below; […]
- To utter (something) violently. "Why, you little emasculated Don Juan— You—" he spat an unmentionable name— "d'you think I'd fight one of your tin-soldier farces with you? Clear out!"
- To make a spitting sound, like an angry cat.
- To rap, to utter. A group of black guys were spitting rhymes in the corner, slapping hands and egging one another on.
- (in the form spitting) To spit facts; to tell the truth. He's spitting for sure.
noun spits
-
Saliva, especially when expectorated.
There was spit all over the washbasin.
Similar: expectoration, spittle
- An instance of spitting; specifically, a light fall of rain or snow. It was early winter in the southern continent, a season of rain and winds and mud, and indeed coals in a nearby brazier hissed with a few spits of rain.
- Likeness; used, usually in set phrases (see spitting image) of a person who exactly resembles someone else. […] according to some of the elders of the village, young Philip was the “very spit” of his father, as they once remembered him […]
-
Synonym of slam (“card game”).
Similar: slam
spit³
- /spɪt/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɪt
Where it comes from
The noun is from Middle Dutch speet, spit, Middle Low German spêdt, spit (Low German spit); the word is cognate with Dutch spit, North Frisian spatt, spet, West Frisian spit.
The verb is from Middle English spitten (“to dig”), from Old English spittan (“to dig with a spade”), possibly from spitu (“rod on which meat is cooked; spit”); see further at etymology 1. The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch spetten, spitten (modern Dutch spitten), Middle Low German speten, spitten (Low German spitten), North Frisian spat, West Frisian spitte.
noun spits
- The depth to which the blade of a spade goes into the soil when it is used for digging; a layer of soil of the depth of a spade's blade. They [the potatoes] ſtood till October, when they were taken up, and a large pye made of them; which is laying them up in a heap, and covering them with ſtraw and a ſpit of earth.
- The amount of soil that a spade holds; a spadeful. Dig your clay with a ſpade in ſpits of ordinary bricks; dig two, three, eight, ten or twenty loads of clay, more or leſs as you pleaſe; [...] then take theſe ſpits of clay, after they are tried in the ſun, ſurround your pile of wood with them, [...]
verb spits · spitting · spitted
- To dig (something) using a spade; also, to turn (the soil) using a plough. [T]he double plough, by taking faſt hold of the mould, throws all back again; and if the vegetables are not effectually earthed up, which may be the caſe after double ſpitting the intervals, then running the double plough over again, completes the buſineſs, and ſtrangely toſſes about and mellows the
- To plant (something) using a spade. When the [peach] seed is procured it is either "spitted in" with a spade or planted in rows in the nursery.
-
To dig, to spade.
We left the ground, of field of loam, by ſuppoſition under two ſorts of managements; the one part very rough, and the other made as fine as circumſtances would allow; the former ploughed the uſual depth, the other double ſpitted; [...]
Similar: delve
SPIT⁴
noun
- Abbreviation of spam over Internet telephony
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: skewer, sprinkle, spatter, spittle, ptyalize, spew, expectoration, patter, pitter-patter, saliva, spue, tongue, spit out, eat, pet, spire
Translations
Every language
noun thin rod on which meat is skewered for cooking
| Español | asador, espeto, espetón, espedo, picudo, fierro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 串 kushi |
| 中文 | 烤肉叉 kǎoròuchā |
| Português | espeto |
| Français | broche |
| Deutsch | Spieß |
| Italiano | girarrosto, spiedo |
| Ελληνικά | σούβλα soúvla |
| Română | frigare |
| Русский | ве́ртел vértel, шампу́р šampúr, рожо́н rožón |
| العربية | سَفُّود saffūd, سِيخ sīḵ |
noun generally low, narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula
| Español | barra |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 沙嘴 shāzuǐ, 嘴 zuǐ |
| Português | ponta |
| Deutsch | Nehrung, Landzunge |
| Русский | коса́ kosá |
verb to impale on a spit
| Español | espetar |
|---|---|
| Português | espetar |
| Français | embrocher |
| Deutsch | aufspießen |
| Русский | насаживать nasaživatʹ |
verb to evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc.
| Español | escupir |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 침을뱉다 chimeulbaetda, 뱉다 baetda |
| 日本語 | つばを吐く tsuba o haku, 吐く haku |
| 中文 | 吐痰 tǔtán, 吐 tǔ, 啐 cuì, 咯 kǎ, 噴放 /喷放 pēnfàng, 吐口 tǔkǒu |
| हिन्दी | थूकना thūknā |
| Português | cuspir |
| Français | cracher |
| Deutsch | spucken |
| Italiano | sputare |
| Ελληνικά | φτύνω ftýno |
| Română | scuipa |
| Русский | плева́ть plevátʹ, плю́нуть pljúnutʹ, наплева́ть naplevátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | nhổ, khạc nhổ |
| العربية | بَصَقَ baṣaqa, بَزَقَ bazaqa, تَفَلَ tafala, تَفَّ taffa |
| עברית | יָרַק yarak |
noun saliva
| Español | escupida |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 침 chim |
| 日本語 | 唾 |
| 中文 | 吐沫 tùmo |
| हिन्दी | थूक thūk |
| Português | cuspe, cuspo, cuspinho |
| Français | crachat |
| Deutsch | Speichel, Spucke |
| Italiano | sputo |
| Română | scuipat |
| Русский | слюна́ sljuná, слю́нка sljúnka |
| Tiếng Việt | nước bọt |
| العربية | بُزَاق buzāq |
| עברית | רוק rok |
noun instance of spitting
| Português | cuspida, cuspidela |
|---|---|
| Français | crachement |
| Deutsch | Spritzer |
| Русский | плево́к plevók |
| עברית | יריקה yerika |
noun a light fall of rain or snow
| Português | chuvisco |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Sprühregen, Nieselregen |
noun a synonym of slam (“card game”)
| Deutsch | Schlemm, Durchmarsch |
|---|
noun depth to which the blade of a spade goes into the soil when it is used for digging
| Deutsch | Spatentiefe, Spaten |
|---|
Talk about this word "spit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spit. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. spit. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spit "spit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spit.Cite this
@misc{spit_2026,
title = {spit},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spit},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
