splash

SPLASH/splæʃ/

23 meanings of splash

1
verbintransitive
To strike or stir a liquid so that part of it scatters away from the main body of liquid.
Ducks splash in the pond at first light, sending ripples toward the bank.
The toddler splashed in every puddle on the walk home.
Similarpaddle, splosh, slosh
Note
Three constructions share this verb, and the object tells them apart. Here there is none: a child simply sits and splashes in the bathtub. With the liquid as object, the transitive use has you splash water onto your face. With a target as object, splashing someone means wetting them. Paul Simon stretches the objectless use to a heart that still splashes inside the chest.
2
verbtransitive
To strike or agitate a liquid so that part of it scatters away from the main mass.
He splashed cold water over the dusty windshield.
They splash paint across the canvas in quick, bold strokes.
Similarslosh, splatter, spatter, fling, throw
3
nouncountableonomatopoeic
The sound produced when an object strikes the surface of a liquid.
The stone hit the water with a satisfying splash.
Splashes from the waterfall could be heard far downstream.
Similarplop
Note
The word imitates the noise it names. It is probably an alteration of the older plash, with the initial s- perhaps modeled on spatter and spill. Every later meaning, from a splash of color to a front-page splash, keeps something of this sudden, wet impact. As a sound it is countable: a splash, two splashes, splashes heard far off.
4
nouncountable
A small quantity of liquid, especially one added to something else.
He poured a splash of vinegar into the dressing.
Add a splash of cold water if the batter is too thick.
Similardash, drop, drizzle, touch, spot
Note
Recipes treat it as a loose, unmeasured quantity, a quick tip of the bottle rather than a spoonful. Chris Morrison's halibut recipe adds a splash of whisky to the pan to deglaze it. The word almost always comes as a splash of followed by the liquid, and it tells the cook that the exact amount does not matter much.
5
verbtransitive
To hit someone or something with liquid; to throw liquid at a target.
A passing bus splashed the pedestrians with dirty rainwater.
The waves splash anyone foolish enough to stand on the lowest rock.
Similarspray, splatter, spatter, drench, soak
6
verbintransitive
Of a liquid, to disperse suddenly from an impact; to splatter.
Coffee splashed onto the keyboard when she set the cup down too hard.
Raindrops splash off the windowsill during heavy storms.
Similarsplatter, spatter, spill, slop, slosh
7
nouncountable
A striking impact or impression, especially one that attracts widespread attention.
The startup made a splash with its surprising launch event.
His debut novel created an immediate splash among critics.
Similarsensation, stir, impact, impression
Note
Its natural home is the phrase make a splash, often intensified with quite, as when a new movie made quite a splash on release. It is used of debuts, launches and releases that draw attention. It is close in spirit to the verb of prominent display, where a story is splashed across the papers.
8
verbtransitive
To display, print, or publicize something prominently.
Editors splashed the scandal over the morning edition.
Magazines splash celebrity weddings across their glossy covers.
Similarplaster, emblazon, trumpet, feature
Oppositebury, suppress
Note
Most often passive, with a preposition marking the surface: a headline splashed across newspapers, photos splashed on the cover. Taylor Swift's "The Lucky One" (2012) has someone's secrets exposed in the headlines. The verb suggests exposure as well as size, which is why scandals and secrets suit it so well. The newsroom noun names the result.
9
nouncountable
A mark or stain left behind by a small amount of liquid.
A splash of red wine had dried on the white tablecloth.
He noticed splashes of mud along the hem of his pants.
Similarstain, spot, splatter, spatter, splotch
10
nouncountable
A small amount of color, especially used as an accent.
She added a splash of crimson to the otherwise gray painting.
The designer worked splashes of gold throughout the hotel lobby.
Similartouch, dash, flash, streak, patch

11
verbtransitive
To spend money, especially in a lavish or carefree way.
Newlyweds often splash large sums on their honeymoon.
He splashed several thousand dollars on a single painting.
Similarsplurge, spend, blow, lavish, squander
Oppositesave, hoard
Note
Money takes the place of the liquid here, thrown about freely. The verb wants a sum or cash as its object, and the rhyming phrase splash some cash sets the tone. It sounds casual and a little indulgent, the language of payday rather than of budgets.
12
nouncountable
A large, prominent headline or featured article in a publication.
The exclusive interview ran as the splash in Sunday's edition.
Her resignation became the splash across the national tabloids.
Similarlead, headline
Note
Newsroom shorthand for the story given the biggest headline. A paper runs a splash on a subject: Bob Franklin's Local Journalism and Local Media (2006) speaks of a splash on a fatal crash as the first of a series of reports. The noun pairs naturally with the verb of prominent display. Editors splash a story, and the result is the splash.
13
verbfigurativelytransitive
To fill or cover something with color in a rough, uneven way.
Sunset splashed the whole sky with orange and pink.
Designers love to splash a dull lobby with bright murals.
Similarpaint, streak, flood, wash, daub
Note
Whole surfaces take this verb, usually in the passive with with. Phil McNulty pictures Wembley "splashed with the red of Spain at one end and the victorious blue of Italy at the other." It grows from a small dab of color but scales it up, so the color spreads in broad, uneven patches rather than precise strokes.
14
nouncountable
A body press in which a wrestler leaps forward from a raised platform, such as the top turnbuckle, landing stomach-first across an opponent lying below.
He delivered a textbook splash, soaring off the turnbuckle and crashing down across his stunned rival.
The crowd roared as she leapt for the splash from the top rope.
15
nouncolloquialcountable
An introductory image or logo displayed while a program, app, or website finishes loading.
The app's splash lingered for a few seconds, displaying the company logo before the home screen loaded.
Developers shortened the splash so users could reach the dashboard faster.
Note
Software people shorten splash screen to plain splash, and the clipped form is informal shop talk. A setup guide can simply say to wait when the splash appears. In formal documentation the full splash screen is the safer choice, because outside computing the bare noun is easily heard as ordinary liquid.
16
nouncountable
A single comic-book page given over to one large illustration, often used for dramatic emphasis or to open a story.
The issue's first splash filled the whole page with the city skyline at night.
She drew a dramatic splash to mark the villain's return.
Note
Comics shorten splash page the same way software shortens the loading screen: the second word drops away and splash carries the whole meaning. It behaves as an ordinary count noun, as in the issue's first splash. Outside comics talk, the full splash page is the clearer choice.
17
verbtransitive
To lower or release a newly built vessel into the water, launching it for service.
The shipyard plans to splash its largest tanker yet this spring.
Workers splashed the freighter as crowds cheered from the dock.
Similarlaunch
Note
A shipyard verb for the moment a new hull meets the water. Writing in the Atlantic Monthly in 1999, David M. Kennedy counts the carriers Japanese shipyards managed to splash after Midway. Keep the context clear: naval writing also uses the verb for downing an aircraft at sea. A splashed ship has been launched, while a splashed plane has been destroyed.
18
noundatedcountable or uncountable
A cosmetic powder formerly used on the face to whiten or lighten the complexion.
Before stepping out, the young lady patted a pale splash across her face.
A box of splash sat among the brushes and rouge on her vanity.
Similarpowder
Note
Here the word belongs to the dressing table, not the water's edge, and it now sounds dated. Readers will meet it mainly in older writing, where splash sits beside rouge as an ordinary item of the toilette. It behaves as a mass noun: a box of splash, a little splash. For present-day use, face powder is the safe choice, since splash in this sense would read as deliberate period color.
19
nounslangcountable
The downing of an aircraft over water, sending it crashing into the sea.
The squadron celebrated the splash as the bomber disappeared beneath the waves.
Command logged another splash that afternoon over the gulf.
Note
Military slang that names where the aircraft ends up: a splash is a kill over water, not over land. Robin L. Rielly's Kamikaze Attacks of World War II (2010) uses it in flat technical prose, describing faulty ammunition that hindered gunners in effecting a splash. The same slang has a verb, to splash a plane. Both belong to military talk rather than everyday speech.
20
verbslangtransitive
To shoot down an aircraft over water, sending it crashing into the sea.
The destroyer's crew splashed two incoming planes within minutes.
Pilots scrambled to splash the intruder before it released its torpedoes.
Similardown
Note
Military slang with a gunner's economy: Robin L. Rielly's Kamikaze Attacks of World War II (2010) has one plane splashed at about 1,800 yards from the ship and a second at about 3,000. The verb is transitive and sits naturally in the passive, with the aircraft as subject: the plane was splashed. Keep it to military contexts, where the matching noun names the downing itself.
21
noundialectalMulticultural London Englishcountable
A knife, especially a bladed weapon carried for protection or used in a fight.
She kept a splash tucked in her boot whenever she walked home late.
One of them flashed a splash, and the argument ended fast.
Similarknife, blade, shiv
Note
The weapon itself, in the same London street slang as the bleeding sense. It has a crowded field of rivals: splasher, shank, nank, jooka, bassy, rambo, pokey, chete. It usually appears with a possessive, as in grip your splash, which marks it as something carried on the person. It is out of place in any formal register.
22
noundialectalMulticultural London Englishuncountable
The bleeding that results when someone is cut or stabbed with a knife.
Bystanders saw the splash spreading across his shirt before help arrived.
The alley floor was dark with splash from the night's brawl.
Similarblood
Note
Street slang from Multicultural London English, at home in casual talk and song lyrics rather than in news reports or medical writing. To give someone a splash is to cut them so they bleed. The word sits beside the word for the knife and the verb for stabbing. Outside that speech community, most listeners will hear only water.
23
verbdialectalMulticultural London Englishtransitive
To wound a person by stabbing them with a knife so that they bleed.
The attacker splashed two men before fleeing into the crowd.
They warned that the gang would splash him if he talked to the police.
Similarstab, shank, shiv, jab, spear
Note
The verb completes a trio with the blood and the knife, and it belongs to the same London street speech. Its near-synonyms there are chef and ching. It takes a person as its object, and lyrics line it up with other blunt verbs of attack: grab him, nap him, splash him.

Practice

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Origin

"Splash" is probably an altered form of "plash," with the initial "s-" perhaps added as in "spatter" and "spill."