What does spitted mean?
“Spitted” is the regular past tense and past participle of “spit,” and it is most naturally understood as an action that has already happened. In its literal sense, it means having expelled saliva from the mouth: “The child spitted juice onto the table.” It can also describe forcefully ejecting material, such as food, seeds, or smoke, or, figuratively, rejecting an offer or expressing contempt with words: “The spokesperson spitted out a denial.” The word is standard in British and American English, while the shorter past form “spat” is also widely used and often sounds more concise. In the uncommon adjectival use, “spitted” means covered or marked with saliva, though this reading should not be confused with the far more frequent verbal use. Spitted is therefore chiefly a grammatical form rather than an independent dictionary word, but its meanings range from physical ejection to idiomatic rejection or disdain.
Having expelled saliva from the mouth, forcefully ejected material, or figuratively rejected or disdainfully expressed something.
"The spokesperson spitted out a denial."
The form can sound more emphatic when the action is forceful or figurative.
Covered or marked with saliva.
"He wiped the spitted tablecloth."
Rare and chiefly predicative; most modern uses of spitted are verbal.
Spitted and spat are both correct past forms of spit, giving the verb two standard ways to say the same thing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spitted come from?
Spitted is an English word formed by adding the regular past-tense and past-participle ending -ed to spit. The verb spit descends from Old English spītan, meaning “to eject saliva.” English retained the older irregular past form spat while also using the regularized form spitted; spittle is a related derivation from the same Old English root.
How spitted is actually used
The verb is standard in British and American English. The shorter past form spat is also standard and often preferred for brevity, while spitted can sound slightly more emphatic. The adjectival sense is rare and chiefly predicative.
Easily confused with spitted
Both are correct past-tense forms of spit; spat is the inherited irregular form, whereas spitted is the regular -ed form.