noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A stiff legging worn over the instep and ankles of a shoe. plural, plural-only
2. 2
   plural of spat form-of, plural
3. 3
   A similar device for horses. plural, plural-only
4. 4
   Long hair on front of lower legs of heavier horses (over the hooves), especially draft horses, notably the Clydesdale breed. plural, plural-only
5. 5
   form-fitting shorts covering the waist to mid- or lower thigh usually worn for athletic situations, compression shorts plural, plural-only

Verb

1. 1
   third-person singular simple present indicative of spat form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person

Synonyms

All synonyms

compression shorts

Antonyms

All antonyms

featherfeatheringfeathershorsefeathers

Example

More examples

"In schools everywhere sports-wear is all spats and shorts."

Etymology

Clipping of spatterdashes.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.