Which to use
“spat” is a verb and “spate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,703
- “spat” frequency rank
- #37,701
- “spate” frequency rank
- 57404
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spat | spate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of spit | A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spat and spate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
spat and spate form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “spat” sits inside “spate” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spat is recorded at frequency rank #19,703, classified as averb, pronounced /spæt/. spate is at rank #37,701, tagged as anoun, pronounced /speɪt/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 57404, this pair ranks #119,497 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spat" and "spate" be used interchangeably?
Remembering spat vs spate
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spat”; for a noun, it's “spate”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spat” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable