Chew vs Spit - What's the difference?
chew | spit |
To crush with the teeth by repeated closing and opening of the jaws; done to food to soften it and break it down by the action of saliva before it is swallowed.
To grind, tear, or otherwise degrade or demolish something with teeth or as with teeth.
(informal) To think about something; to ponder; to chew over.
* Alexander Pope
* Prior
A small sweet, such as a taffy, that is eaten by chewing.
(informal, uncountable) Chewing tobacco.
(countable, or, uncountable) A plug or wad of chewing tobacco; chaw or a chaw.
A rod on which meat is grilled (UK English) or broiled (US English).
A narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula.
* 1881 , :
The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful.
To impale on a spit.
* Shakespeare
To attend to a spit; to use a spit.
To spade; to dig.
(transitive) To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth.
* 1994 , (Stephen Fry), (The Hippopotamus) Chapter 2
To rain or snow slightly, or with sprinkles.
* Charles Dickens
To utter violently.
* 1915 , , Shadows of Flames , page 240 [http://books.google.com/books?id=-9AcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA240&dq=spat]:
* 2004 , edition, ISBN 0743483790, chapter 3, page 23 [http://books.google.com/books?id=d9F9MUiOQD4C&pg=PA23&dq=spat]:
(transitive, slang, hip-hop) To utter.
* 2005 , Giselle Zado Wasfie, So Fly
(uncountable) Saliva]], especially when [[expectorate, expectorated.
(countable) An instance of spitting.
English terms with multiple etymologies
As verbs the difference between chew and spit
is that chew is to crush with the teeth by repeated closing and opening of the jaws; done to food to soften it and break it down by the action of saliva before it is swallowed while spit is to impale on a spit or spit can be (transitive) to evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth.As nouns the difference between chew and spit
is that chew is a small sweet, such as a taffy, that is eaten by chewing while spit is a rod on which meat is grilled (uk english) or broiled (us english) or spit can be (uncountable) saliva]], especially when [[expectorate|expectorated.chew
English
Verb
(en verb)- Make sure to chew thoroughly, and don't talk with your mouth full!
- The steak was tough to chew as it had been cooked too long.
- He keep his feed in steel drums to prevent the mice from chewing holes in the feed-sacks.
- The harsh desert wind and sand had chewed the stump into ragged strips of wood.
- The professor stood at the blackboard, chalk in hand, and chewed the question the student had asked.
- Old politicians chew wisdom past.
- He chews revenge, abjuring his offense.
Synonyms
* (crush food with teeth prior to swallowing) bite, chavel, chomp, crunch, masticate * (degrade or demolish as if with teeth) grind, pulverize, rip, shred, tear * (think about) contemplate, ruminate, mull, muse, ponder * See alsoDerived terms
* chewing gum * chew out * chew over * chew the cud * chew the fat * chew the scenery * chew up * chewyNoun
(en noun)- Phillip purchased a bag of licorice chews at the drugstore.
- The school had banned chew and smokes from the school grounds, even for adults.
- ''The ballplayers sat on the bench watching the rain, glumly working their chews .
- The first time he chewed tobacco, he swallowed his chew and got extremely sick.
Derived terms
* chew toy * penny chewspit
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) spitu , from (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- Or perhaps he may see a group of washerwomen relieved, on a spit of shingle, against the blue sea [..]
- (Halliwell)
Verb
(spitt)- to spit a loin of veal
- infants spitted upon pikes
- She's spitting in the kitchen.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) spittan, from (etyl) (compare Danish spytte, Swedish spotta), from (etyl) Ayto, John, Dictionary of Word Origins , Arcade Publishing, New York, 1990, of imitiative origin (see spew)spew], [[w:Online Etymology Dictionary, Online Etymology Dictionary], Douglas Harper
Verb
- Don't spit on the street.
- The teacher told her to spit out her bubble gum.
- At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.
- It had been spitting with rain.
- "Why, you little emasculated Don Juan— You—" he spat an unmentionable name— "d'you think I'd fight one of your tin-soldier farces with you? Clear out!"
- "Gentleman? You?" he spat .
- A group of black guys were spitting rhymes in the corner, slapping hands and egging one another on.
Usage notes
* Spit'' as the past form is common only in the US, while ''spat is common everywhere.Synonyms
* expectorateDerived terms
* spit it out * spit nails * spitting chips * spitting distanceNoun
- There was spit all over the washbasin.