English Explanatory Dictionary

spare

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Extra.
  2. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
  3. Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
  4. Not occupied or in current use.
  5. Not plentiful.
  6. Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
  7. Austere, stripped down, without what is extraneous.
  8. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
  9. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
  10. Very angry; frustrated or distraught.
noun
  1. The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
  2. Parsimony; frugal use.
  3. An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
  4. That which has not been used or expended.
  5. A spare part.
  6. A spare tire.
  7. Any car part or comparable machine part in a supply chain.
  8. A superfluous or second-best person.
  9. The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
  10. The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
  11. A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.
  12. assistant or extra hand (typically on buses and lorries)
verb
  1. To show mercy, to have mercy on.
  2. To desist; to stop; to refrain.
  3. To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
  4. To preserve (someone) from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm (someone); to show mercy towards.
  5. To refrain from killing (someone) or having (someone) killed.
  6. To keep.
  7. To be frugal; to not be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
  8. To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
  9. To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
  10. (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.
name
  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.

Pronunciation

spâr /spɛə(ɹ)/ /spɛɚ/ en-us-spare.ogg /speː/ /speə/ /spiə/ /speɹ/ /spɜː(ɹ)/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-spare.wav

Word forms

spare sparer sparest spares sparing spared no-table-tags glossary sparedst spareth

Etymology

From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-. Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).

Derived words

go spare like a spare prick at a wedding nonspare spange spanger spare ball spare change sparely spareness spare part sparer spare rib spare room spare time spare tire spare tool spare tyre spare wheel unspare spary donut spare hot spare spareful spareless don't spare the horses forspare spareable spare a thought for spare no effort spare no expense spare someone's blushes spare someone the details spare the rod and spoil the child to spare unspared Sparean

Translations

Arabic: رَحِمَ Armenian: խնայել Bulgarian: щадя Bulgarian: пощадявам Danish: skåne Dutch: sparen German: sparen Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 Ancient Greek: φείδομαι Hungarian: megkímél Hungarian: kímél Icelandic: þyrma Italian: risparmiare Latin: impercō Latin: parcō Old Norse: þyrma Polish: oszczędzać Polish: oszczędzić Russian: щади́ть Russian: ми́ловать Russian: пощади́ть Russian: поми́ловать Sanskrit: मृडति Spanish: perdonar Spanish: no adolorar Spanish: mostrar misericordia a Spanish: ser misericorde con Spanish: apiadar (se de) Spanish: dejar a salvo Swedish: skona Turkish: bağışlamak
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