English

Verb

spit out ‎(third-person singular simple present spits out, present participle spitting out, simple past and past participle spat out or spit out)

1. Used other than as an idiom: see spit,‎ out.
2. To say reluctantly (see also spit it out).
   • 1920, Sabine Baring-Gould, Mehalah: a story of the salt marshes, Chapter XXII,

     "Hark ye, mistress," said the shepherd. "I've had much on my tongue this many a day, but you haven't given me the chance to spit it out. I won't be put off any longer."

3. To say scornfully.

   "You will die now!", he spat out.

Usage notes

• Spit as the past form is common only in the US, while spat is common everywhere.
• The object in all transitive senses can come before or after the particle. If it is a pronoun, then it must come before the particle.