# Squirt
**Squirt** is an English verb meaning to eject liquid, gas, or a soft substance in a sudden, thin, forceful stream from a narrow opening, and a noun covering the jet itself, the act of ejecting it, and an instrument such as a syringe for doing so. The word is first recorded as a verb in the fifteenth century and has since developed informal senses for a small or impudent person and, in sexual slang, a term for the emission of fluid during female orgasm.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Core meaning | To force liquid out of a narrow opening in a thin, fast stream, or to be forced out in this way; synonyms include spurt, spray, and jet[1](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/squirt) • [2](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirt) |
| First record | Verb squirten, late 15th century, "to spit water from the mouth"; noun senses from the late 14th century[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt) |
| Origin | Uncertain; perhaps via Middle Dutch or Middle Low German, cognate with Low German swirtjen, and probably ultimately imitative[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt) • [4](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt) |
| Insulting noun sense | "Whipper-snapper; small, insignificant, self-assertive person" by 1839[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt) |
| Squirt gun | Attested as a syringe from 1803, as a toy by 1871[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt) |
| Sexual slang | "Squirting" refers to the emission of fluid during sexual arousal or orgasm; a 2024 prevalence study reported 41% of women had experienced it[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13194267/) |
| Recent borrowing | Recorded as a Spanish anglicism since 2022, used mostly as a masculine noun and in quotation marks[6](https://www.observatoriolazaro.es/en/palabra.php?word=squirt) |
## The verb and its everyday noun
The verb works in both directions. Intransitively, a liquid comes forth from a narrow opening, as when water squirted out of a hole in a pipe; transitively, a person or mechanism causes the ejection, as when a child squirts water from a hose or a snake squirts venom from a distance of a meter[2](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirt) • [7](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/squirt_1). The verb also covers viscous substances: squeezing a lemon until juice squirts, extruding a bead of caulk into a crack, or wetting someone with the resulting spurt[8](https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=squirt).
As a noun, squirt names the jet itself, the action, a small quantity of the ejected substance (a squirt of chocolate sauce), and the instrument that produces it, such as a syringe[4](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt). The noun actually appears in the record before the verb in some senses: late 14th-century sources use it to mean diarrhea, and by the early 15th century it meant a syringe; the "jet of liquid" sense dates from the 1620s[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt). The dialectal plural "the squirts" for diarrhea survives in American dictionaries[4](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt).
**Etymology.** The word entered late [Middle English](https://www.edgepedia.org/middle-english) as squirten or squyrten, apparently a variant of swirten and cognate with [Low German](https://www.edgepedia.org/low-german) swirtjen in the same sense, perhaps akin to swirl[4](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt). Etymologists describe the origin as uncertain and probably imitative, echoing the sound of liquid forced under pressure; the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary likewise labels the verb imitative[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt) • [7](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/squirt_1). The transitive sense, causing something to issue in a sudden jet, is recorded from the 1580s[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt).
## Slang senses for people
The jump from a liquid jet to a small person is recorded in nineteenth-century American slang. Farmer's *Slang and Its Analogues* defines the noun as a dandified puppy, an upstart, or a cad, with the derivative squirtish meaning dandified, self-assertive, or caddish; illustrative citations run from 1844 through 1854, including a public-school use for an obnoxious boy[9](https://wehd.com/farmer/Squirt.html). Etymonline dates the sense of a whipper-snapper, a small, insignificant, self-assertive person, to 1839[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt).
Modern dictionaries keep the person senses in circulation. Dictionary.com lists a youngster, especially a meddlesome or impudent one; a short person; and an insignificant, self-assertive person, especially one small or young[4](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt). Merriam-Webster records an impudent youngster and, more neutrally, a kid[2](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirt). The same word can be a mild insult or a term of endearment for a child, depending on tone and context.
The instrument sense also produced a familiar compound. Squirt-gun meant a syringe by 1803, in a satirical poem about medical fads, and by 1871 it denoted the toy[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt). Squirt guns and water pistols remain the standard playful application of the verb: children squirting each other with water from a garden hose[7](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/squirt_1).
## Squirting in sexual usage
In slang, squirting is a term for female ejaculation, popularized by adult film; [Dictionary.com](https://www.edgepedia.org/dictionary-com) dates the pornographic label's online spread to the 2000s, after the 1980s performer Fallon earned the nickname The Squirt[10](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/squirting).
The scientific literature treats squirting, the emission of fluid during sexual arousal or orgasm, as a relatively common experience rather than a rarity. A 2024 first-ever prevalence study reported that 41% of women had squirted, with similar figures in convenience samples from the USA (54%), North America (40%), and Egypt (40%)[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13194267/). Popular health writing distinguishes squirting, the release of a larger volume of clear, watery fluid, sometimes more than 10 milliliters, from female ejaculation, the release of a small amount of milky fluid, describing the two as produced by different anatomy[11](https://www.naturalcycles.com/cyclematters/what-is-squirting) • [12](https://www.self.com/story/how-to-squirt-during-sex). The nature and origin of the expelled fluid remain debated scientifically[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13194267/).
The social dimension is well documented. Research conducted in Sweden found that 58% of respondents said they had, at some time, wished to avoid squirting, a wish that was especially prevalent among participants whose partner had reacted negatively to it in the past.[13](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-026-03425-1) A 2024 survey of over 1,500 women found that among those who had experienced it, 38% sensed it beforehand, 35% sensed it as it happened, and 19% only realized afterward, for example by wetter bedsheets[11](https://www.naturalcycles.com/cyclematters/what-is-squirting). Research on sexual encounters between women and men describes squirting as socially charged, carrying meanings that range from pride and validation to shame, avoidance, and pressure to perform[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13194267/).
## Borrowing into other languages
The sexual sense has crossed language borders as an anglicism. A Spanish corpus tracker records squirt in that country's press since July 2022: 56 total occurrences, overwhelmingly as a masculine noun (43 of 43 gendered uses), with 64% of contexts in quotation marks, and concentrated in outlets such as [El País](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-pais) and Men's Health[6](https://www.observatoriolazaro.es/en/palabra.php?word=squirt). French [Wiktionary](https://www.edgepedia.org/wiktionary) also lists squirt as borrowed from English[14](https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/squirt).
English brands and technology have reused the word independently. Squirt is a carbonated soft drink whose name has spawned playful verb uses, and owners of Microsoft's Zune media player used squirting for transferring music between devices, a pun that ProperSlang notes plays on the sexual meaning[15](https://properslang.com/define/squirting).
## References
1. [Definition of 'squirt', Collins English Dictionary](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/squirt)
2. [Squirt Definition & Meaning, Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirt)
3. [Etymology of squirt, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/squirt)
4. [SQUIRT Definition & Meaning, Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/squirt)
5. [Squirting Scripts: Navigating Validation, Avoidance, Desire, and Coercion in Sexual Encounters Between Women and Men, Archives of Sexual Behavior (PMC)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13194267/)
6. [squirt, Observatorio Lázaro](https://www.observatoriolazaro.es/en/palabra.php?word=squirt)
7. [squirt verb, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/squirt_1)
8. [American Heritage Dictionary Entry: squirt](https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=squirt)
9. [Squirt, Farmer's Slang & Its Analogues, World English Historical Dictionary](https://wehd.com/farmer/Squirt.html)
10. [squirting, Dictionary.com Slang](https://www.dictionary.com/culture/slang/squirting)
11. [What is squirting? How it feels & tips on how to squirt, Natural Cycles](https://www.naturalcycles.com/cyclematters/what-is-squirting)
12. [How to Squirt During Sex—and What That Liquid Actually Is, SELF](https://www.self.com/story/how-to-squirt-during-sex)
13. [Squirting Scripts, Springer Nature Link](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-026-03425-1)
14. [squirt, Wiktionnaire](https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/squirt)
15. [squirting, ProperSlang](https://properslang.com/define/squirting)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Linguistics › Language change, history, and social variation › Profanity, taboo words, and slang*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license