spat
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a short, unimportant argument or disagreement between people.
a brief, petty quarrel or minor disagreement, often between friends or partners.
Simple“The couple had a quick spat about whose turn it was to cook dinner.”
In context“What began as a minor spat over office supplies eventually escalated into a formal grievance involving the entire department.”
Synonyms - 02 C2 Proficiency
very young oysters or other shellfish that have just attached to a surface.
the spawn of shellfish, particularly oysters, or a juvenile mollusc that has recently attached to a substrate.
Simple“The oyster farmers checked the ropes to see if any new spat had attached.”
In context“Marine biologists monitored the settlement of oyster spat to determine the health of the local reef ecosystem after the storm.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a cover placed over the wheels of a car or plane to help it move smoothly through the air.
an aerodynamic fairing or bodywork component designed to reduce drag by covering the upper portion of a vehicle's tyres.
Simple“The vintage airplane featured elegant wheel spats that reduced wind resistance.”
In context“By installing custom wheel spats, the engineering team managed to improve the vehicle's fuel efficiency by nearly five percent.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
a piece of cloth worn over the top of a shoe, popular in the past.
a short cloth or leather gaiter covering the instep and ankle, fastened under the shoe, typically worn in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Simple“The actor wore a tuxedo and white spats for his role in the old movie.”
In context“The gentleman's formal attire was completed by a pair of pristine linen spats, a fashion choice that had already begun to fade by the 1930s.”
Synonymsgaiter - 05 C2 Proficiency
an old unit of distance used in space, equal to one billion kilometres.
an obsolete unit of astronomical distance equivalent to 10 to the power of 9 metres (one gigametre).
Simple“In some old science books, the distance was measured in spats.”
In context“The term spat was briefly proposed as a standard unit for interplanetary distances but never gained widespread adoption among the scientific community.”
Synonymsgigametre
“Let’s get some perspective on a spat our prime minister is describing as a war.”
“All sides in this spat are playing political games, and it is the average Canadian and the average American who will pay the price.”
From Old English spittan, spætan.
Uncertain; perhaps related to spit.
Shortening of spatterdash, from spatter + dash. 1779.
1804. American English, probably imitative.
Attested from 1823.
From Latin spatium (“space”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.