spit

 When food, liquid, or anything else comes out of your mouth, you can use the word "spit."

• Babies often spit up their food.
• If you can’t swallow something because it tastes really bad, you will naturally spit it out.
• It’s not polite to spit in public.
• Spitting is a bad habit.

The word "spit" is an irregular verb:

• Amy spits at other kids in school. (present tense)
• She spit at another kid yesterday in the lunchroom. (past tense)
• Blood was spit from the man’s mouth after he got hit in the head. (This sentence is in the past tense, passive voice.)

You can also use "spit" for machines and institutions:

• Computers spit out information.
• A factory spits out products.
• Schools spit out graduates.

There are a few expressions that use "spit."

• Come on. Spit it out. (Say what you intended to say.)
• The experience of going through a divorce chewed him up and spit him out. (The experience very difficult mentally, physically, and emotionally.)
• She’s the spitting image of her mother. (spitting image = to resemble another person)

Click here to go to the Word of the Day page.

This page was first published on September 6, 2012. It was updated on March 28, 2016.