spat
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/spæt/
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A small word shared by the past of spit, brief quarrels, old shoe coverings, young oysters, and the verb for petty arguing.
Examples
- She spat the bitter tea back into the cup.
- The couple laughed about the spat later.
- A public spat broke out between the rival campaigns.
- Fans spat online after the close match.
- The rivals spatted over campaign money.
Similar words
overshoe
shellfish seed
spit
spew
tiff
quarrel
sputter
legging
wrangle
hiss
Meanings
Usage
Use spat as the past tense and past participle of spit for physical ejection, angry speech, animal hissing, and sudden bursts from a machine or fire.
Examples
- He spat into the sink.
- She spat the bitter tea back into the cup.
- The comedian spat the line with real anger.
- The old printer spat pages onto the floor.
- A burst pipe spat water across the room.
- The cat spat and backed away.
- The fire spat sparks into the air.
Common mistakes
Spit is used for a finished past action, or spat is stretched to ordinary speech where no force or anger is meant.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He spit the coffee out yesterday.
| He spat the coffee out yesterday.
|
| The engine spitted sparks last night.
| The engine spat sparks last night.
|
| She spat a joke at dinner.
| She told a joke at dinner.
|
Similar words
spit
expectorate
eject
spew
sputter
hiss
Usage
Use spat for a small quarrel, especially one that sounds temporary or less serious than a major dispute.
Examples
- The siblings had a brief spat over the toy.
- A public spat broke out between the rival campaigns.
- Their spat was settled before dinner.
- The couple laughed about the spat later.
- A minor spat erupted during the meeting.
- The neighbors had another spat about parking.
- The online spat faded after a few hours.
Common mistakes
The word is sometimes made too serious, or treated as a physical object rather than a disagreement.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The countries went to war after a tiny spat.
| The countries went to war after a serious dispute.
|
| He picked up the spat after lunch.
| He ended the spat after lunch.
|
| Their spat was peaceful agreement.
| Their spat was a brief disagreement.
|
Similar words
argument
quarrel
tiff
squabble
dispute
row
Usage
Use spat for one covering and spats for the usual pair, especially in descriptions of older formal clothing, costumes, or uniforms.
Examples
- He fastened a white spat over his left shoe.
- The actor wore black shoes with pale spats.
- A polished spat protected the boot from mud.
- The costume included a cane, a hat, and spats.
- Victorian men often wore spats with formal dress.
- The museum displayed one torn spat beside the uniform.
- Rain stained the edge of his leather spat.
Common mistakes
The clothing item is usually plural for a pair, and it is not the same as the whole shoe.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He wore one spats on his left shoe.
| He wore one spat on his left shoe.
|
| She bought new spats to replace her shoes.
| She bought new spats to cover her shoes.
|
| The museum displayed a pair of spat.
| The museum displayed a pair of spats.
|
Similar words
gaiter
spatterdash
overshoe
shoe cover
legging
anklet
Usage
Use spat in aquaculture and marine biology for settled young shellfish, not for any young sea animal.
Examples
- The hatchery released thousands of spat into the bay.
- Oyster spat attached to old shells.
- Farmers counted the spat on each tray.
- Healthy spat grew quickly in the warm water.
- The reef gained new spat after the spawning season.
- Researchers moved the spat to larger cages.
- The nursery supplied spat for local oyster farms.
Common mistakes
Spat is sometimes used before larvae settle, or for unrelated seafood rather than young bivalves.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The free-swimming larvae were spat before they attached.
| The larvae became spat after they attached.
|
| The salmon spat grew in the tank.
| The oyster spat grew in the tank.
|
| The farmer planted spat seeds in soil.
| The farmer set oyster spat on shell.
|
Similar words
oyster seed
seed oyster
bivalve seed
juvenile oyster
settled larva
shellfish seed
Usage
Use spat as a verb for small repeated quarrels, with spats, spatted, and spatting as the regular forms of this quarrel verb.
Examples
- The roommates spat about chores every weekend.
- The rivals spatted over campaign money.
- Neighbors kept spatting about the fence.
- The sisters spat one minute and laughed the next.
- Fans spat online after the close match.
- The board members spatted over the budget.
- The hosts spat lightly about who forgot the keys.
Common mistakes
The quarrel verb is confused with the past form of spit, or its past tense is left as spat instead of spatted.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| They spat over the bill yesterday.
| They spatted over the bill yesterday.
|
| He spat with his brother every week.
| He spats with his brother every week.
|
| They spat each other about chores.
| They spatted with each other about chores.
|
Similar words
bicker
argue
quarrel
squabble
wrangle
row
Usage
Choose spat by context: a past act of spitting, a minor argument, a shoe covering, young shellfish, or the verb meaning to quarrel briefly.
Common mistakes
Spit is used for finished past action, and the shoe-covering sense is often written as singular spat when a pair of spats is meant.
Etymology
The past form belongs to spit. The shoe-covering noun is shortened from spatterdash, while the oyster and quarrel nouns are of uncertain origin.
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