spit

CEFRB2

/spɪt/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To force saliva out of the mouth.

  2. 02

    noun

    Saliva that is sent out of the mouth.

Examples

  • A gentleman would not spit on the street.

  • In Singapore, it is a crime to spit on the ground.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. A generally low, narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula or bar.

  2. To impale on a spit; to pierce with a sharp object.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A thin metal or wooden rod on which meat is skewered for cooking, often over a fire.

More examples

In context

  • She’s spitting the roast in the kitchen.

  • a hot pan spitting droplets of fat

  • to spit a loin of veal

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The rude child was told not to blank his gum onto the sidewalk.

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Nearby

Origin

verb

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...