spate
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
spates
plural
spates
Britannica Dictionary definition of SPATE
[count]
:
a large number of things that appear or happen in a short period of time
-
A spate of books on the subject have come out recently.
-
the recent spate [=rash] of forest fires
-
There was a spate of corporate mergers in the 1980s.
in spate
chiefly British, of a river, stream, etc.
:
very full
:
filled with water flowing very fast
-
The river was in spate due to heavy rains.
