Splatter

//ˈsplætɚ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An uneven shape or mess created by something dispersing on impact. countable, uncountable

    "He had a hard time cleaning up the paint splatters on the carpet."

  2. 2
    the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively wordnet
  3. 3
    A genre of gory horror. attributive, uncountable

    "splatter film; splatter movie"

  4. 4
    a small quantity of something moist or liquid wordnet
  5. 5
    Spurious emissions resulting from an abrupt change in a transmitted radio signal. uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To splash; to scatter; to land or strike in an uneven, distributed mess. intransitive

    "The drink splattered all over me, the table, and the floor when I knocked it over."

  2. 2
    dash a liquid upon or against wordnet
  3. 3
    To cause (something) to splatter. transitive

    "He splattered paint onto the wall."

  4. 4
    cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container wordnet
  5. 5
    To spatter (something or somebody). transitive

    "Her wet hands […] splattered him with suds."

Synonyms

All synonyms
dabspatteraspergeatomizebeatbeat a ruffle

Example

More examples

"Blood splatter was found on Tom's polyester leisure suit, convicting him of the crime."

Etymology

Uncertain. Emerged 1780s.https://www.etymonline.com/word/splatter Possibly a blend of splash + spatter.

Related phrases

splatter plattersplatter-gun

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