spitting image

noun

plural spitting images

: someone or something that looks very much like someone or something else

Father then and son later are spitting images of each other.

—Norris McDonald

—usually singular

Naimah was brown-skinned, slender, and neighbors said she was the spitting image of her mother.

—Debbie Chocolate

… a lovely … Oscar de la Renta dress, which was the spitting image of a similar one the late royal had worn previously.

—Megan C. Hill

Synonyms

• alter ego
• carbon
• carbon copy
• clone
• counterpart
• doppelgänger
• doppelganger
• double
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• fetch
• image
• likeness
• look-alike
• match
• mirror image
• picture
• replica
• ringer
• spit
• twin

Examples of spitting image in a Sentence

with the help of either movie magic or makeup, the actress appeared to be the spitting image of the queen

Recent Examples on the Web

Ray Nicholson is the spitting image of his father, Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024

And not just any movie star – Lance is the spitting image of a Hollywood icon, James Jansen. —Justin Kroll, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2024

In Twisters, Edgar-Jones, 26, is in one extended sequence the spitting image of Hunt, 61, thanks to costume designer Eunice Jera Lee. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 22 July 2024

With his towering frame, dark hair, and strong jawline, the 31-year-old is the spitting image of his uncle John F. Kennedy Jr. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of spit and image

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

spitting image

noun

: perfect likeness