spat
/spæt/noun, verb
spat is spelled S-P-A-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spat means “The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters and similar molluscs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spat is spats.
How many letters and syllables are in spat?
| Letters | 4: S-P-A-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is spat?
Spat appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spat?
- /spæt/
Spat has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spat.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with spat?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as spat.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: past, taps.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of spat
- spats plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- spatting participle, present
- spatted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spat mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters and similar molluscs.
- 2
A juvenile shellfish which has attached to a hard surface.
- 3
A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
- 4
AustraliaUKA piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
- 5
A drag-reducing aerodynamic fairing covering the upper portions of the tyres of an aeroplane equipped with non-retractable landing gear.
- 6
A brief argument, falling out, quarrel.
get into a trivial spat over punctuality
- 7
A light blow with something flat.
- 8
An obsolete unit of distance in astronomy (symbol S), equal to one billion kilometres.
verb
- 1
To spawn, used of shellfish as above.
- 2
To quarrel or argue pettily briefly.
- 3
To strike with a spattering sound.
- 4
USTo slap, as with the open hand; to clap together, as the hands.
- 5
simple past and past participle of spit
There was no sink in the room so we spat out the window.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spat in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | guêtre |
| German | Gamasche, Überschuh , Kotflügel , Wortwechsel, Zank, Streit |
| Portuguese | polaina , briga |
| Spanish | polaina , guardabarros carenado , altercado, rifirrafe , altercar, malentender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spat come from?
Uncertain; perhaps related to spit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).