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Definition of spatter verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

spatter

verb
 
/ˈspætə(r)/
 
/ˈspætər/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they spatter
 
/ˈspætə(r)/
 
/ˈspætər/
he / she / it spatters
 
/ˈspætəz/
 
/ˈspætərz/
past simple spattered
 
/ˈspætəd/
 
/ˈspætərd/
past participle spattered
 
/ˈspætəd/
 
/ˈspætərd/
-ing form spattering
 
/ˈspætərɪŋ/
 
/ˈspætərɪŋ/
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  1. [transitive, often passive] to cover somebody/something with drops of liquid, dirt, etc., especially by accident synonym splash
    • spatter somebody/something blood-spattered walls
    • spatter somebody/something with something As the bus passed, it spattered us with mud.
    • spatter something on/over somebody/something Oil was spattered on the floor.
    Extra Examples
    • His clothes were liberally spattered with mud.
    • Blood and splinters of bone spattered the floor.
    • They went in and saw the blood-spattered walls.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • liberally
    preposition
    • against
    • on
    • over
    See full entry
  2. [intransitive] + adv./prep. (of liquid) to fall on a surface in drops, often noisily
    • We heard the rain spattering on the roof.
    Extra Examples
    • The water had spattered all over her face.
    • Rain spattered against the window.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • liberally
    preposition
    • against
    • on
    • over
    See full entry
  3. Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘splutter while speaking’): frequentative, from a base shared by Dutch, Low German spatten ‘burst, spout’.
See spatter in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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