Definition

1. Verb (transitive and intransitive):
   • To vomit, to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth: To expel matter from the stomach violently.
   • To eject or send out in large quantities, often forcefully or rapidly: This can refer to physical substances (like lava, water, or smoke) or metaphorical things (like words or emotions) being emitted in a copious, uncontrolled stream.
   • To expel (saliva or phlegm) from the mouth; to spit: To force liquid from the mouth.

Usage and Examples

• Literal (Vomiting):
  • The sick child began to spew.
  • He spewed his dinner all over the floor.
• Forceful Emission (Physical):
  • The broken pipe spewed water into the street.
  • The factory chimneys spew toxic fumes into the air.
• Forceful Emission (Metaphorical):
  • The politician spewed insults at his opponent.
  • The website's comments section spewed hatred.
• Expelling from the Mouth (Spitting):
  • The angry man spewed tobacco juice onto the ground.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "spew out" or "spew forth": These phrasal verbs emphasize the outward, often continuous, flow of something.
  • The volcano spewed out ash and rock.
  • The broken dam spewed forth a torrent of water.
  • He spewed forth a litany of complaints.
• The word often carries a negative connotation, implying something unpleasant, excessive, or uncontrolled is being released.

Variants and Related Words

• Spewer (noun): One who or that which spews.
  • The volcano is an active spewer of lava.
• Spew (noun, informal): Something that is spewed; vomit.
  • There was spew on the sidewalk.

Synonyms

• Vomit, throw up, puke (informal): For the act of ejecting stomach contents.
• Erupt, gush, spout, discharge: For the act of ejecting substances forcefully.
• Spit, expectorate: For ejecting saliva.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Spew out: To eject or emit something in a stream.
  • The burst pipe was spewing out dirty water.
  • The talk show host spewed out opinions non-stop.
• Spew forth: A more literary synonym for "spew out," often used for liquids or speech.
  • The spring spewed forth crystal-clear water.
  • The prophet spewed forth warnings.

Related Idioms

• Spew venom: To speak with extreme malice or hatred.
  • During the debate, the candidate spewed venom against his rival.
• Spew one's guts (out) (slang): To vomit violently. It can also mean to confess or tell everything one knows.
  • After the roller coaster, I thought I was going to spew my guts.
  • Under pressure, the informant spewed his guts to the police.

Verb

1. eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
   • After drinking too much, the students vomited
   • He purged continuously
   • The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night
2. eject or send out in large quantities, also metaphorical
   • the volcano spews out molten rocks every day
   • The editors of the paper spew out hostile articles about the Presidential candidate
3. expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth
   • The father of the victim spat at the alleged murderer