Definition

1. Noun:

   • A slat of wood in the middle of the back of a straight chair: A flat, often vertical, piece of wood that forms the central part of a chair's back.
   • A single splash: The sound or visual effect of something wet or soft hitting a surface.
   • The sound of a soft, wet object hitting a surface: An onomatopoeic word for the sound of impact, often implying a messy result.

2. Verb:

   • To flatten on impact: To hit a surface and spread out into a flat, often messy shape.
   • To split open and flatten for cooking: To prepare food, especially fish, by opening it and pressing it flat.
   • To give off the sound of a bullet flattening on impact: To make a specific slapping or smacking sound upon hitting something.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The antique chair had an ornately carved splat.
  • The tomato fell with a loud splat.
  • He heard the splat of the egg hitting the pavement.

• Verb:

  • The ripe fruit splatted against the wall.
  • The recipe says to splat the fish before grilling it.
  • The paintball splatted on his helmet.

Advanced Usage

• "to go splat": To hit something and make a splat sound, often implying destruction or mess.

  • The water balloon went splat on the sidewalk.

• As an interjection: Used to represent the sound itself.

  • Splat! The bug hit the windshield.

Variants and Related Words

• Splatter (verb/noun): To scatter or fall in drops (making a splashing sound); a splash or spot. Often implies more scattering than "splat."
  • The paint splattered on the canvas.

Synonyms

• Noun (for sound): Smack, plop, slap, thwack.
• Verb (for impact): Smash, flatten, splatter, plop.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(This word is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions.)

Related Idioms

• "to hit the wall with a splat": To fail suddenly and completely, often in a messy or undignified way.
  • His ambitious project hit the wall with a splat.

Noun

1. a slat of wood in the middle of the back of a straight chair
2. a single splash
   • he heard a splat as it hit the floor

Verb

1. flatten on impact
   • The snowballs splatted on the trees
2. split open and flatten for cooking
   • splat fish over an open fire
3. give off the sound of a bullet flattening on impact