I. spit 1 /spɪt/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle spat /spæt/ or spit American English , present participle spitting )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: spittan ]
1 . LIQUID FROM YOUR MOUTH [intransitive] to force a small amount of ↑ saliva (=the liquid in your mouth) out of your mouth:
Nick rolled down his window and spat.
spit at/on/into
A group of fans spat on the players as they left the field.
2 . FOOD/DRINK ETC [transitive] to force something out of your mouth:
Billy stood up slowly, rubbed his jaw, and spat blood.
spit something out
Diana tasted her martini and quickly spat it out.
3 . RAIN be spitting British English to be raining very lightly SYN drizzle :
You don’t need an umbrella – it’s only spitting.
4 . SAY SOMETHING ( also spit out ) [transitive] to say something quickly in a very angry way:
‘Shut up!’, spat Maria furiously.
5 . spit it out spoken used to ask someone to tell you something that they seem too frightened or embarrassed to say:
Come on, Jean. Spit it out!
6 . SMALL PIECES [intransitive and transitive] to send out small bits of something, for example fire or hot oil, into the air:
A log fire was crackling and spitting in the hearth.
7 . CAT [intransitive] if a cat spits, it makes short angry sounds
8 . be within spitting distance (of something) spoken to be very close to someone or something
9 . spit the dummy informal to react to something in a very angry way – used when suggesting that the person is behaving like a child and not reacting like an adult should
spit up phrasal verb American English
if someone, especially a baby, spits up, they bring a small amount of food or drink up from their stomach out through their mouth
spit something ↔ up
I was a difficult child, always crying and spitting up my food.
On one occasion, our daughter spat up all over him.
II. spit 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1,4-5: Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ spit 1 ]
[ Sense 2,3: Language: Old English ; Origin: spitu ]
1 . [uncountable] informal the watery liquid that is produced in your mouth SYN saliva
2 . [countable] a long thin stick that you put through meat so that you can turn it when cooking it over a fire
3 . [countable] a long narrow piece of land that sticks out into the sea, into a river etc
4 . be the (dead) spit of somebody British English spoken to look exactly like someone else:
Sam is the dead spit of his dad.
5 . spit and polish informal when something is thoroughly cleaned and polished:
It was Christmas, so Ellen gave the dining room a little extra spit and polish.