Spate

/speɪt/ · noun

Meaning

(countable) A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation.
2. (countable) A sudden heavy downpour of rain.
3. (countable, figurative) A sudden increase or rush of something; a flood, an outburst, an outpouring.
4. (transitive) To (suddenly) flood or inundate (a river or other watercourse) with water.
5. (intransitive) To (suddenly) rain heavily; to pour.

Example Sentences

Thys Lepidium that Pliny & Paul [of Aegina] deſcribe⸝ groweth plentuouſly about the water ſyde that rynneth thorow Morpeth in Northumberland⸝ in ſuche places as great heapes of ſtones are caſten together wyth the myght of a great ſpat or flood.

Arous'd by bluſtering vvinds an' ſpotting thovves, / In mony a torrent dovvn the ſnavv-broo rovves; / VVhile craſhing ice, borne on the roaring ſpeat, / Svveeps dams, an' mills, an' brigs, a' to the gate; […]

The last tall son of Lot and Bellicent, / And tallest, Gareth, in a showerful spring / Stared at the spate. A slender-shafted Pine / Lost footing, fell, and so was whirled away.

Scamander was indeed a great power for the Trojans; it was the great river of the country, […] His floods, however useful in time of war, would in time of peace do fearful damage. […] [H]e carried away, in sudden spates, many of the horses that were pastured on his banks.

It [the Halladale river] receives the whole of its water-supply from a number of hill burns and several lochs of inconsiderable extent. it follows, therefore, that after rain the surplus water soon runs out, and the river soon dwindles down to an almost unfishable condition. […] An ordinary spate will not suffice to keep the river in good order for more than a couple of days.

At Odendaal, where he [Christiaan de Wet] had hoped to cross, the river was in spate, the British flag waved from a post upon the further side, and a strong force of expectant Guardsmen eagerly awaited him there.

The snow had left the bottoms and valleys and nestled only on the north slopes of the ice-scarred ridges. The glacial drip was already in evidence, and every creek in roaring spate.

At the edge of the burn, where the path turns downward, there is a patch of shingle washed up by some spate.

Synonyms for spate

Antonyms for spate

Related Words

Word Forms

• spates
• spat
• spating
• spated

Usage Notes

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