spatter

[spat-er] /ˈspæt ər/
verb (used with object)
1.
to scatter or dash in small particles or drops:
The dog spattered mud on everyone when he shook himself.
2.
to splash with something in small particles:
to spatter the ground with water.
3.
to sprinkle or spot with something that soils or stains.
verb (used without object)
4.
to send out small particles or drops, as falling water:
rain spattering on a tin roof.
5.
to strike a surface in or as in a shower, as bullets.
noun
6.
the act or the sound of spattering:
the spatter of rain on a roof.
7.
a splash or spot of something spattered.
Origin
1575-85; perhaps < Dutch spatt(en) to splash + -er6; compare Dutch spatterig literally, spattery
Related forms
spatteringly, adverb
unspattered, adjective
Examples from the web for spatter
  • Focusing a sound wave onto a pool of ink causes droplets to spatter onto a nearby surface.
  • The field is dominated by small shield volcanoes surmounted by cinder and spatter cones.
  • There are three different types of cones in the area-cinder cones, spatter cones, and lava cones.
  • Tephra coats foreground and mantles old spatter rampart and related fissures near bottom of image.
  • The spatter was deposited much higher on these cones than the flow run up.
  • The north side of the cone consists of oxidized spatter, cinder, and ash.
  • Lecture on blood spatter and investigative techniques.
  • Use a face shield when firing to minimize the effects of potential back spatter of metal fragments.
  • Use body armor when appropriate to minimize the effects of potential back spatter.
  • Gradually, eruptive activity condensed to a few spatter ramparts at the center of this fissure system.
British Dictionary definitions for spatter

spatter

/ˈspætə/
verb
1.
to scatter or splash (a substance, esp a liquid) or (of a substance) to splash (something) in scattered drops: to spatter mud on the car, mud spattered in her face
2.
(transitive) to sprinkle, cover, or spot (with a liquid)
3.
(transitive) to slander or defame
4.
(intransitive) to shower or rain down: bullets spattered around them
noun
5.
the sound of something spattering
6.
something spattered, such as a spot or splash
7.
the act or an instance of spattering
Word Origin
C16: of imitative origin; related to Low German, Dutch spatten to spout, Frisian spatteren to splash
Word Origin and History for spatter
v.

1570s (implied in spattering), possibly a frequentative verb from the stem of Dutch or Low German spatten "to spout, burst," of imitative origin. Related: Spattered.