verb / noun

spatter

SPAT-er/ˈspætər/

Drops or small particles scattered onto a surface, or the act of scattering them.

The painter spatters blue paint onto the white sheet with a flick of the brush.

A painter flicks small drops of blue paint from a brush onto a plain white sheet, hand and droplets clear, no lettering or shapes suggesting text.

Etymology

spatterDutch or Low Germanto spout, burst

Spatter may come from spatten, “to spout or burst,” through a form suggesting repeated action. On that account, scattering drops or bits evokes repeated little bursts of material.

In context

Storytime Haven185:37

I’ll spatter the road with her brains.

📖 The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery | A Tale of Love & Freedom 💙✨

More examples

She wipes a spatter of paint from her glasses.
Passing trucks spatter mud on the parked cars.
His sleeves are spattered with sauce.

Forms

spatter · spatters · spattered · spattering

Similar words

splatter: Often suggests larger, messier splashes rather than fine scattered drops.
sprinkle: Suggests scattering small amounts deliberately, often more evenly.
splash: Usually involves larger amounts of liquid striking a surface.