What does "spatter" mean?
A spray or shower of droplets hitting a surface.
Spatter
/ˈspætɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A spray or shower of droplets hitting a surface.
- Grammar: spatter is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: splash, splatter, asperge, barrage.
- Useful contrasts: absorb, clean surface, dry.
- Usage evidence: Blood spatter analysis plays an important role in determining what has happened at a crime scene.
How to use "spatter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spatter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spatter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spatter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spatter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spatter" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "splash" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spatter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A spray or shower of droplets hitting a surface.
"1763, Richard Bentley, Patriotism, a Mock-Heroic, London: M. Hinxman, Canto 5, pp. 65-66, As a rough Water-Dog, New-England’s Breed, Fresh plaister’d from some Pond with Mud and Weed, Round from his Fleece the dirty Puddle shakes Rejoicing in the Spatter that he makes:"
- 2 the act of splashing a (liquid) substance on a surface wordnet
- 3 A spot or spots of a substance spattered on a surface.
"There was what looked like a spatter of blood on one wall."
- 4 the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively wordnet
- 5 The sound of droplets hitting a surface.
"As Henry lay awake that first night the hiss and spatter of the rain against his window seemed to have a personal grudge against him."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A burst or series of sounds resembling the sound of droplets hitting a surface. figuratively
"[Father Roman] had shriven many simple souls on the battlefields of the Republic, kneeling by the dying on hillsides, in the long grass, in the gloom of the forests, to hear the last confession with the smell of gunpowder smoke in his nostrils, the rattle of muskets, the hum and spatter of bullets in his ears."
- 7 A collection of objects scattered like droplets splashed onto a surface. figuratively
"1988, Don DeLillo, Libra, New York: Viking, Part 2, “12 August,” p. 270, The attendant had a droopy lower lip, a rust-tone complexion with a spatter of freckles across the cheekbones […]"
Verb
- 1 To splash (someone or something) with small droplets. transitive
"When my wet chihuahua shook himself, I was spattered with smelly water."
- 2 dash a liquid upon or against wordnet
- 3 To cover, or lie upon (something) by having been scattered, as if by splashing. figuratively, transitive
"[…] she seem’d to have woven the Rainbow into a loose Robe, which being so rarified that she might be seen through it, and also spatter’d with radiant Jewells in the forms of Starrs […]"
- 4 spot, splash, or soil wordnet
- 5 To distribute (a liquid) by sprinkling; to sprinkle around. transitive
"to spatter blood"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 rain gently wordnet
- 7 To send out or disperse (something) as if in droplets. figuratively, transitive
"The cabman spattered his few words of English."
- 8 To send out small droplets; to splash in small droplets (on or against something). intransitive
"Make sure the pieces of fish are dry before you put them into the hot oil so that it doesn’t spatter."
- 9 To injure by aspersion; to defame. figuratively, obsolete, transitive
"1647, John Hall, “A Genethliacon to the Infant Muse of his dearest Friend” in Poems, London: J. Rothwell, Let envy spatter what it can, This Embryon will prove a man."
Example
"Blood spatter analysis plays an important role in determining what has happened at a crime scene."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spatter"?
Common synonyms include: splash, splatter, asperge, barrage, beat, beating.
How do you use "spatter" in a sentence?
Blood spatter analysis plays an important role in determining what has happened at a crime scene.
How do you pronounce "spatter"?
Pronounced /ˈspætɚ/.
Etymology
Probably from Middle Low German or Dutch spatten (“to spout, burst”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Related to spit (“saliva”).