What does spewed mean?
Spewed is the past tense and past participle of spew, a vivid verb meaning to expel material forcefully. It can describe a person vomiting, as well as an object that sends out liquid, smoke, steam, dust, or other substances. The word is especially effective when the emission is sudden, violent, or abundant: a damaged pipe may spew water, while an engine spews smoke. In literal descriptions of vomiting, it sounds direct and informal; in literary or figurative contexts, it can convey overwhelming force, disorder, or disgust. Although spewed is primarily used for completed actions, the related form spewing is common in present-continuous descriptions such as “the engine was spewing smoke.” The word belongs to a Germanic lineage connected with the more general sense of spitting or expelling.
verbTo eject liquid, food, smoke, or other material forcefully from the mouth or another opening. In informal use, it can mean to vomit.
- To eject or discharge material forcefully, especially liquid, smoke, steam, or food.
- To vomit; expel the contents of the stomach.
"The fountain spewed water into the air as the pressure increased."
"The broken pipe spewed a jet of hot water across the floor."
"He felt ill and spewed into the sink."
From the forceful expulsion of vomit to smoke and steam, spew gives vivid physical motion to anything suddenly discharged.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spewed come from?
Spew comes from Middle English spewen, a verb meaning to spit or vomit, and is related to Old English spīwan, “to spit.” Its history belongs to the Germanic family of words associated with the act of expelling saliva or other material. The modern verb also developed figurative senses for forcefully emitting or projecting substances, especially smoke, steam, and liquid. The Latin-derived relatives expectorate and sputum belong to a separate but conceptually related tradition of “spitting out.”
Related word forms
How spewed is actually used
The verb is somewhat literary in its stronger, figurative uses and informal or blunt when referring to vomiting. It is usually transitive, with the material as the object, or used with the particle out.
Easily confused with spewed
Spewed means expelled material forcefully, while sped means moved or travelled quickly.
Spewed is a form of the verb spew, whereas spume is a noun for foam or froth.