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verb

spew

spyoo
verb
1
To eject or gush out forcefully in a stream.
"Thick smoke spewed from the factory chimney."
"Lava spewed from the volcano for hours."
2
To produce a large, careless stream of words, especially nonsense or hateful comments.
"He spewed insults at anyone who disagreed with him."
3
To vomit.
"She felt so sick on the boat that she spewed over the side."

How to Use Spew

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo gush or shoot out forcefully — smoke, lava, words, or (informally) vomit.

When to use it

Using "spew" for vomiting is informal/slang.

Common pairings
spew smoke spew nonsense spew hate

Word Forms

spewed past tense, spewn past tense, spews plural, spews singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Thick smoke _____ from the factory chimney.

Etymology

From Old English spīwan, from Proto-Germanic *spīwaną — related to English "spit" and German speien, all going back to an ancient root meaning "to spit or vomit."

Rhymes for spew

pew
See all rhymes for spew →
Definitions: FreeDict original editorial