spree
noun
a lively frolic or outing.
spree
1 American
[spree]
/ spri /
noun
-
sprees
plural
-
a lively frolic or outing.
-
a bout or spell of drinking to intoxication; binge; carousal.
-
a period, spell, or bout of indulgence, as of a particular wish, craving, or whim.
an eating spree; a spending spree.
-
a period or outburst of extreme activity.
the team’s scoring spree;
no motive for his killing spree.
Spree
2
American
[shpr ay]
/ ʃpreɪ /
noun
spree
British
/ spriː /
noun
-
a session of considerable overindulgence, esp in drinking, squandering money, etc
-
a romp
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spree
First recorded in 1795–1805; origin uncertain
Explanation
If you go on a spree, you go a little wild, indulging in some activity in an unrestrained way. You might go on a cupcake spree every year on your birthday, eating as many cupcakes as you can. Following your impulses and giving in to them — rather than resisting or limiting them — is one way to go on a spree. It can be a dancing spree, in which you dance all night long, or a shopping spree, in which you max out your credit card at the mall. The original slang meaning, and one that's still used today, is "a drinking bout," and it may be rooted in the French word esprit, "lively wit."
Vocabulary lists containing spree
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The AI borrowing spree has also reshaped the bond market and helped drive yields higher.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
The amiable campaigners AFP accompanied on a recent sign-posting spree on Washington's uptown Georgia Avenue, did not match the profile of angry activists.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Los Angeles is set to go on an affordable housing spending spree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Two months ago, an AI swarm broke out of a lab and went on a hacking spree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
It was part of a buying spree I had with some of my scholarship money when I heard I was one of the lucky ones going to New York.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Spending Spree: Wall Street’s tolerance for AI investment might seem to have no limits, but Google parent Alphabet found one Wednesday: $200 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
For now, the mood is exuberant at Renate, a labyrinthine club with multiple DJs housed in a dimly-lit complex near the Spree river, a Berlin institution which recently celebrated its 18th birthday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
The aquarium, located just across the Spree River from the Berlin Cathedral in the heart of the city, was a genuine attraction for the German capital.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2022
The path twists and turns, eventually heading across the Spree River and past the German parliament and the Brandenburg Gate, the backdrop for President Ronald Reagan’s famous 1987 “tear down this wall” speech.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 2, 2021
The first to be killed by police was a twenty-four-year-old tailor named Günter Litfin, who jumped fully clothed into Berlin’s Spree River and tried to swim across the water separating East and West.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Fake shopping sprees and ‘happiness insurance’: The latest fintech apps reveal our financial anxieties.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Users might fear giving their credit-card information to their AI bot, for instance, or not want to risk a rogue agent going on shopping sprees without their permission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Deutsche Bank has studied the matter and found that returns averaged 8% in the first three months of IPO sprees, and 20% in the first 12 months.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The surge in pink slips started in 2023, when companies that had gone on hiring sprees during the COVID-19 pandemic began to cut back.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
“I keep worrying that Mom will have one of her rare but overly thorough cleaning sprees and toss out everything under the bathroom sink.”
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
