British Slang For Vomit (13 Examples!)

Vomit’s not a nice topic, but it’s something we all have to deal with at some point in our lives.

Whether it’s from excessive drinking, from a nasty illness or stomach bug, we all have to come to terms with vomit eventually.

One of the best ways to normalize vomit and make it a bit easier to deal with is refer to it by slang terms. “Vomit” even itself is a pretty nasty word.

So, with that in mind, let’s find out about some of the British slang terms for vomit.

In This Article

Sick

Let’s start with the most common, one that probably doesn’t even register as slang to most people when they use it: sick.

This is ubiquitous, used everywhere in all parts of Britain, and universally understood to mean vomit.

It can be both the verb and the noun form, as most of the terms on this list can. “I’ve been sick,” for example, or “I got some sick on me.”

Naturally, the term sick is an old one, having been in use since at least the Middle English period.

At first, of course, as it still does, it meant ill or unwell, diseased, or feeble.

It was a rather natural progression, then, for it to come to mean vomit or an inclination to vomit.

This usage seems to originate in the 1610s.

This is the best one to remember if you need a slang term for sick.

Chunder

Moving on to perhaps a more recent one, we have chunder.

In terms of its usage in British slang, this one seems to have only really become popular in the last couple of decades.

Nonetheless, it is now one of the more favored terms especially among young people.

The sense really is more exclusive to the actual act of vomiting this time. “He’s going to chunder,” for example. But it could also refer to the vomit itself.

Originally, this was an Australian slang term.

Our first usage of it seems to appear in the 1950s, but we can’t say for sure where or how it arose.

It could be related to “thunder”, the idea being that a person vomiting makes a lot of noise when they do so.

Unfortunately, we just don’t know for sure.

Puke

Next we have another really old term, which traces its origins far back in time.

“Puke” is a bit more regional, perhaps more likely to be heard in the south of England than anywhere else.

However, it will be understood by pretty much anyone in Britain.

Again, this word is more a verb than a noun. “I was puking all night,” for example.

As I said, this one originated quite a long time ago.

By 1600, it meant to vomit and eject the contents of your stomach.

It’s most likely of imitative origin, potentially being borrowed after the German spucken from the same period.

The first time we see this term in writing is actually in Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. By the 18^th century, it also referred to a medicine which would elicit vomiting.

Spew

Related to that previous term, next we have spew.

Spew still has a couple of meanings in British slang, as it can also simply mean to spit something up deliberately.

But it can also mean to vomit, and again can be both a noun and a verb.

You might say you’ve “spewed up your lunch,” or you might say there’s “spew on the floor.”

But, again, it’s more commonly used as a verb.

This one is also really steeped in history when it comes to its origin. It stretches all the way back to the Proto-Germanic language which eventually came to form the basis of Old English.

The Proto-Germanic spiew, meaning to spit or spew, became Old English spiwan.

Eventually, it came to specifically mean vomiting, although this wasn’t for quite a while, and it never lost its original meaning, either.

Vom

Some slang terms are really simple and intuitive to understand, and I think that goes for this term, too.

“Vom” is a pretty recent term which is simply a shortening of “vomit”.

A popular one in student drinking scenes where vomiting is all too regular an occurrence, shortening words like this is a very common and natural way to form slang terms.

Again, this one really is exclusively a verb. “Get her some water before she voms,” for example.

Its used in written works as early as 1998, but it’s harder to say for sure how much it predates this by. It was most likely in popular use at least a decade before this.

Wallace and Gromit

Lists of British slang are often incomplete without the relevant Cockney rhyming slang, and this is what we have here.

In Cockney rhyming slang if you want to refer to vomit, you would say “Wallace and Gromit.” If you’re not British, then you’ll no doubt be a bit confused about what this means.

But think of the phrase simply as a stand in for the word vomit. “If you drink all that you’ll Wallace and Gromit!” Gromit simply rhymes with vomit.

Wallace and Gromit is a popular series of clay animation shorts and a feature length film in Britain, starring the titular inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit.

The first Wallace and Gromit short was released in 1989, and as it became more popular over the next decade and new shorts were released, it came to enter Cockney rhyming slang.

Whiting

This term is a bit trickier as it has a couple of meanings.

On the one hand, it’s used to describe someone who has smoked too much marijuana, and their face has gone white.

This makes you feel very ill.

On the other hand, the same can also be applied to alcohol.

When you drink too much, your face can become white, and this is when you’re probably going to start vomiting.

So, it can be used in both contexts.

Either way, whiting out usually ends in vomiting.

The term has its origins in the hippie culture of the 1960s, when marijuana was first popularised among western youth. It simply comes from the fact that your face will turn white under these circumstances.

Cowk

Here we have a specifically Scottish term, used particularly in the northeast of Scotland.

To cowk means to retch, vomit, or just even to feel nauseated.

It is also found in parts of England, although less commonly.

For the most part, you’re not likely to be understood in most places if you use this term to describe vomiting. “I’m feeling cowk,” you might say, or “I’m about to cowk”.

It appears to be an corruption, in Scottish English, of the Scots word “boke” or “boak”.

When precisely this happened is not clear, though usage of the term stretch back to at least the 19^th Century.

Shoot the cat

As I’ve mentioned, most of the time people are sick it’s because of drunkenness.

So, it’s unsurprising that there are more than a few specific slang terms for vomiting while drunk.

“Shooting the cat,” as unpleasant as that sounds, is one of these slang phrases.

To shoot the cat means to vomit from excessive drinking. “I shot the cat on the way home last night,” for example.

It’s attested as early as the 18^th Century, where it is compiled in a vulgar dictionary from 1785.

This was often used by sailors at the time, though the precise origin is unclear.

Sailors would often have cats on board for reasons of superstition as well as to deal with rodents, but that’s about the strongest connection we can make with this phrase.

Sick up

Another variation of one of the most common ways to say vomit in British slang, next we have the verb phrase “sick up”.

The meaning of this one, I think, is quite clear and self-explanatory.

You sick up because vomit comes up out of your stomach. “I gave him his dinner, but he sicked it right up,” for example.

In terms of where and when this originates, again, it’s so natural a phrase to arise that it’s very hard to say.

Natural in the sense that it makes intuitive sense if you understand the word “sick” already.

But our first written examples of it appear in the early 20^th Century, so it probably came into use in some time in the 1800s.

Speaking with Hughie

This one is a bit more archaic and not as widely known today, but is certainly a slang term for vomiting used in parts of Britain today.

Speaking to or talking to Hughie means to vomit profusely, and sometimes you can even just say “Hughie”.

Again, it’s not terribly common and for the most part the general public is not going to be sure what you mean when you say this.

The meaning behind the phrase is sort of onomatopoeic.

The idea is that “Hughie” is the sound someone makes when they are retching and vomiting.

So, not exactly the prettiest of slang terms! It’s unfortunately of unclear origin, but seems to date back no further than the invention of the telephone.

The idea was that you were on the phone, almost.

Barf

Though you might think of this one more as an American slang term, in fact it has been used in Britain for rather a long time, as well.

It’s taken on its own unique British character, and though highly regional in terms of usage, you’re likely to be understood by just about anyone in Britain if you use this term. “Please don’t barf in my car,” for example.

Its origin is unclear, though our first attested usages of it come from the 1960s.

It most likely spread to British slang via Hollywood movies of the late 20^th Century, as did so many other terms.

Hurl

Finally, this, too, may be thought of more as a US term, but in fact it’s also in widespread use in Britain.

Interestingly, though, the word itself definitely has its roots in medieval English of some description.

But firstly, the term hurl is again mostly a verb. “I saw at least three people hurl last night,” for example.

Again, everyone in Britain will understand this term, even if they don’t use it themselves.

Originally, the word “hurl” just meant to throw something far or to rush violently.

This was most probably derived from Low German in the 14^th Century.

In Middle English, it ultimately became hurlen, which meant to throw or to hurry.

So, when it comes to vomiting, the idea is that you are “hurling” the contents of your stomach through your mouth.

Though you might think this should only apply to projectile vomiting, it’s used for any vomiting. In its modern meaning it was popularized in the last century or so, again largely through American media and television. But it was definitely originally a British term.

It’s not a pleasant subject, then, but hopefully, some of the slang terms on this list can help you to find an easier way to talk about it when necessary.

Naturally, slang terms for vomit arise all over the world, and so there are many more that are borrowed from other regional dialects.

But on this list are the ones who are, arguably, mostly if not purely British in use if not origin.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!