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 ey]
/ 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
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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English Words Derived from Gaelic
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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:
Luis Alvarado, co-head of global fixed income at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said it’s growing federal deficits and the artificial-intelligence borrowing spree that make long-term U.S. government bonds, and TLT, less attractive for investors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
It is part of a club record spending spree by the north London club, who have signed six players while targeting two further attacking additions.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Taylor Morrison acquisition was part of that spree.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The spending spree is running into higher costs, borrowing constraints and investor pushback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
And now the whole country, indeed, the whole world, seemed suddenly to be caught up in a mad candy-buying spree, everybody searching frantically for those precious remaining tickets.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
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
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
A former Nigerian oil minister accused of being treated to luxury home stays and lavish spending sprees in the UK in exchange for granting government contracts has denied asking for or taking bribes.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
Now, some companies say their hiring sprees went too far.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
When the military tribunal began on July 8, 1942, the prisoners changed into the new clothes that they purchased on their shopping sprees.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Definitions 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.
