spade
1a tool for digging, having an iron blade adapted for pressing into the ground with the foot and a long handle commonly with a grip or crosspiece at the top, and with the blade usually narrower and flatter than that of a shovel.
some implement, piece, or part resembling this.
a sharp projection on the bottom of a gun trail, designed to dig into the earth to restrict backward movement of the carriage during recoil.
to dig, cut, or remove with a spade (sometimes followed by up): Let's spade up the garden and plant some flowers.
Idioms about spade
call a spade a spade, to call something by its real name; be candidly explicit; speak plainly or bluntly: To call a spade a spade, he's a crook.
in spades, Informal.
in the extreme; positively: He's a hypocrite, in spades.
without restraint; outspokenly: I told him what I thought, in spades.
Origin of spade
1Other words from spade
- spadelike, adjective
- spader, noun
- un·spad·ed, adjective
Words that may be confused with spade
- spade , spay
Other definitions for spade (2 of 2)
a black figure shaped like an inverted heart and with a short stem at the cusp opposite the point, used on playing cards.
a card of the suit bearing such figures.
spades,
(used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Spades is trump.Spades count double.
(used with a plural verb)Casino. the winning of seven spades or more.
Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.
Origin of spade
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use spade in a sentence
Beyoncé certainly delivers it in spades, too—and effortlessly.
Bow Down, Bitches: How Beyoncé Turned an Elevator Brawl Into a Perfect Year | Kevin Fallon | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf laughter is the best medicine, The Comeback made you feel enough pain to need a dose—and then it delivered in spades.
‘The Comeback’ Finale: Give Lisa Kudrow All of the Awards | Kevin Fallon | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBayonetta may not always be fully-clothed, but she delivers in spades.
Bayonetta Is Nintendo’s Graphic, Ass-Kicking Barbie | Alec Kubas-Meyer | October 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe second he does, her giggle sends the Queen of Spades cascading to the brown tile floor below.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead with a needle in his arm and envelopes of heroin stamped with an Ace of Spades logo.
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Deadly ‘Ace of Spades' Heroin | Marlow Stern | February 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Spades should be declared with six at the score of twenty-six and with five at twenty-eight.
Not I. I have dirtied my share of spades myself; but I slipped my leash and went self-hunting.
The Saint's Tragedy | Charles KingsleyThe decision was final; and seizing the spades, Joe, Sneak, and the oarsmen began to prepare a resting-place for the dead body.
Wild Western Scenes | John Beauchamp JonesFour masked men walked first in the procession, two carrying spades, and two bearing the insignia of the Holy Office.
Very seldom, now; I have sown all my wild oats, and even the ace of spades can scarcely dig them out again.
Night and Morning, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
British Dictionary definitions for spade (1 of 2)
/ (speɪd) /
a tool for digging, typically consisting of a flat rectangular steel blade attached to a long wooden handle
an object or part resembling a spade in shape
(as modifier): a spade beard
a heavy metallic projection attached to the trail of a gun carriage that embeds itself into the ground and so reduces recoil
a type of oar blade that is comparatively broad and short: Compare spoon (def. 6)
a cutting tool for stripping the blubber from a whale or skin from a carcass
call a spade a spade to speak plainly and frankly
(tr) to use a spade on
Origin of spade
1Derived forms of spade
- spader, noun
British Dictionary definitions for spade (2 of 2)
/ (speɪd) /
the black symbol on a playing card resembling a heart-shaped leaf with a stem
a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl) the suit of cards so marked, usually the highest ranking of the four
a derogatory word for Black
in spades informal in an extreme or emphatic way
Origin of spade
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with spade
see call a spade a spade; do the spadework; in spades.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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