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Spat

Noun CEFR C2 Standard
spæt

Definitions

  1. The spawn of shellfish, especially oysters and similar molluscs.
  2. A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
    in-plural, often
  3. A brief argument, falling out, quarrel.
  4. A light blow with something flat.
  5. An obsolete unit of distance in astronomy (symbol S), equal to one billion kilometres.
  6. A juvenile shellfish which has attached to a hard surface.
  7. A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
  8. A drag-reducing aerodynamic fairing covering the upper portions of the tyres of an aeroplane equipped with non-retractable landing gear.

Equivalents

17 more languages

Examples

“As spat-fall often occurs in areas away from environments suitable for oyster growing, the collection, transport⟳ and sale of oyster spat has developed into a separate⟳ industry.”
“But Orata’s oysters were, like⟳ the dormice and fish⟳, collected in the wild, as spat.”
“Conditions in pearl oyster hatcheries are optimized for growth and survival of spat.”
“If the spat are allowed to remain⟳ attached to the tank bottom for more than two days, they are difficult to remove⟳ without damage⟳ to the shell.”
“get⟳ into a trivial spat over punctuality”
“have⟳ a vicious spat with the cousins”
“The downside of this cost-saving strategy was that the train⟳ service could only be covered by goodwill. Whenever there was a spat between ASLEF and management - regardless of cause - the withdrawal of this goodwill became a stick⟳ with which unions could beat⟳ management.”

CEFR level

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.
See all C2 English words →

See also

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