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  1. spate love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A sudden flood, rush, or outpouring: "It issues a spate of words from the loudspeakers and the politicians” ( Virginia Woolf).
  2. n. Chiefly British A flash flood.
  3. n. Chiefly British A freshet resulting from a downpour of rain or melting of snow.
  4. n. Chiefly British A sudden heavy fall of rain.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A natural outpour of water; a flood; specifically, a sudden flood or freshet, as from a swollen river or lake.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A river flood; an overflow or inundation.
  2. n. A sudden rush or increase.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A river flood; an overflow or inundation.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
  2. n. a sudden forceful flow
  3. n. (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent

Etymologies

  1. Of Celtic origin; compare Irish speid. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “But one group of Boston brokers also has detected what they call a spate of "rent engineering" -- a tactic of getting the highest possible face rent by giving the tenant favorable terms on other aspects of the leases.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Raising Rents

  • “To sit immediately below Fidel in full spate is an extraordinary experience.”

    Fidel Castro

  • “Here the first need is for the control for flood protection of the waters which come down in sudden spate from the glaciers and snowclad slopes of the Rockies under the effect of the strengthening sun of spring and early summer.”

    Boundary Waters Between Canada and the United States

  • “The usual six o'clock home-going stream was in spate with Christmas crowds, and Oxford Street was a solid jam.”

    Mrs. Miniver

  • “The longer-term spate of quakes, starting with the magnitude-9. 3 Indian Ocean event in 2004 that triggered a devastating tsunami, follows a roughly 50-year cycle of earthquake activity, says geophysicist and USGS director Marcia McNutt.”

    canada.com Top Stories

  • “Calling the spate of initiatives "not terribly substantial," Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner R., Ohio said "this reversal is striking since his administration has consistently blocked American-made energy.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Obama Says He Will Seek to Lift U.S. Oil Output

  • “We're seeing the beginnings of that through these multiple suicide bombers trying to create a sensational attack that has far-reaching impact," Rodriguez said, referring to a spate of recent bombings targeting hotels, banks and supermarkets.”

    The Washington Post: U.S. expects Afghan Taliban will launch spring campaign to regain lost ground

  • “I don't say that Obama has no support out there, but I recall a spate of stories to the effect that she was mopping up most of the support there after his early surge in the area ...”

    Hillary Endorsed By A Meathead

  • “He called a spate a spate in the most creative and artistic way possible and, at least I, never disgreed with him.”

    Ingmar Bergman, Famed Director, Dies at 89 - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

  • “No separate values are available for the part called spate irrigation or flood recession cropping.”

    Water profile of Somalia

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hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. flowing
  1. flow

same context (12)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. flurry
  2. barrage
  1. spatter
  2. aftermath
  1. eruption
  2. brunt
  1. downpour
  2. escalation
  1. paroxysm
  2. fusillade
  1. outburst
  2. mudslide

rhymes (108)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Ate
  2. Cate
  3. Est
  4. Fate
  5. Haight
  6. Iwate
  7. Kate
  8. Kuwait
  9. Nate
  10. Solid-state
  11. State
  12. Sumgait
  13. Tate
  14. Waite
  15. abate
  16. actuate
  17. ate
  18. await
  19. bait
  20. bate
  21. beit
  1. belate
  2. berate
  3. cate
  4. chait
  5. circumnavigate
  6. collate
  7. commutate
  8. conflate
  9. conjugate
  10. crate
  11. create
  12. date
  13. debate
  14. deflate
  15. demodulate
  16. desecrate
  17. dictate
  18. dilate
  19. eight
  20. elate
  21. equate
  1. est
  2. estate
  3. fait
  4. fate
  5. fete
  6. frate
  7. freight
  8. gait
  9. gate
  10. grate
  11. great
  12. hait
  13. hate
  14. inflate
  15. innate
  16. interrelate
  17. interstate
  18. intrastate
  19. irate
  20. kate
  21. late
  1. lightweight
  2. mate
  3. misstate
  4. multistate
  5. negate
  6. oblate
  7. ornate
  8. overate
  9. overrate
  10. overweight
  11. pate
  12. plait
  13. plate
  14. postdate
  15. predate
  16. procreate
  17. prorate
  18. rate
  19. recreate
  20. recriminate
  21. reflate
  1. reinstate
  2. relate
  3. remunerate
  4. restate
  5. sate
  6. sedate
  7. skate
  8. slate
  9. solid-state
  10. speight
  11. state
  12. straight
  13. strait
  14. streight
  15. tait
  16. trait
  17. translate
  18. underrate
  19. update
  20. upstate
  21. wait
  1. waite
  2. wayt
  3. weight

reverse dictionary (3)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. spait
  1. speat
  1. spate

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‘spate’ has been looked up 2935 times, loved by 8 people, added to 47 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 7.