spate
pronunciation
How to pronounce spate in British English:
UK [speɪt]
How to pronounce spate in American English:
US [spet]
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- Noun:
- (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
- a sudden forceful flow
- the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow
Word Origin
- spate (n.)
- early 15c., originally Scottish and northern English, "a sudden flood, especially one caused by heavy rains or a snowmelt," of unknown origin. Perhaps from Old French espoit "flood," from Dutch spuiten "to flow, spout;" related to spout (v.). Figurative sense of "unusual quantity" is attested from 1610s.
Example
- 1. There has been a spate of protests across china this year .
- 2. Real estate is booming in the philippines , as a spate of new construction signals .
- 3. But a spate of strikes has hit the country 's factories , and chinese labour is getting dearer .
- 4. But it has gained growing attention from the chinese public thanks to a spate of high-profile cases and government crackdowns .
- 5. After a spate of suspicious rider deaths , a 1991 new york times article highlighted the deadly potential of the drug du jour .