spa
noun
a mineral spring, or a locality in which such springs exist.
spa
1 American
[spah]
/ spɑ /
noun
-
spas
plural
-
a mineral spring, or a locality in which such springs exist.
-
a luxurious resort or resort hotel.
-
a hot tub or similar warm-water hydromassage facility, usually for more than one person.
-
New England. soda fountain.
Spa
2
American
[spah]
/ spɑ /
noun
SpA
1
British
abbreviation
SPA
2
British
abbreviation
Spa
3
British
/ spɑː /
noun
spa
4
British
/ spɑː /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spa
First recorded in 1555–65; generalized use of Spa
Explanation
A spa is a fancy hotel or resort, especially one that offers health and beauty treatments or is located near a natural mineral spring. If you like being pampered, you might treat yourself to a day at a spa. You might go to a spa to get a massage and sit in a sauna, or to visit the naturally warm springs in Sonoma, California or Saratoga Springs, New York. The springs themselves are often called spas, and as a result even a Jacuzzi bathtub with underwater jets is sometimes referred to as a spa. The word comes from the town of Spa, Belgium, which has been known for its mineral springs since the 15th century.
Vocabulary lists containing spa
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:
He added restaurants, including the steakhouse Beefbar, as well as a spa, wine tastings with the property’s sommelier, horseback rides along the dunes and bike excursions through rice fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Backyard spa proves too tempting for this bear.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Before founding Beauty Pie in 2016, Kilgore had built other brands including luxury day spa Bliss, make-up and skincare range Soap & Glory and footwear brand FitFlop.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
There is a spa trip and fancy dinner at a restaurant and behind it all, lurking silently, a cancer scare.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
When the CD ended, Fang exited the spa, hit me with a killer look, dove for cover under the red velvet and snapped off the rickety lamp between the beds.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
She says that practical experience was invaluable when she later opened Bliss Spa in London in the 1990s.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
At Spa, he was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell at Les Combes on the first lap.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Last July, I did a full remodel of the house and turned it into what I call Pink Palms Spa Retreat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Let me know if it gets to be too much,” the therapist at Capella Singapore’s Auriga Spa said as she ground a copper gua sha tool into my muscles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The cast and crew of Dog Squad rented two entire floors in a Millville hotel near the Four Paws Spa location.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
Airbus, along with Leonardo SpA and Thales, is likely to benefit from any European Space Agency collaboration with America on moon projects, he adds.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
The designer finally stepped aside as creative director of Roberto Cavalli SpA in 2013.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
He reports to Massimo Ferretti, executive chairman of the brand’s parent company, Aeffe SpA.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
An appeals court in Milan on Friday rejected Nigeria's $1.092 billion compensation request against Italian energy group Eni SpA and Shell Plc in civil proceedings relating to a $1.3 billion oilfield deal.
From Reuters ● Nov. 14, 2022
In response to detailed questions, a lawyer for Area SpA said in a statement that the firm hired Eliminalia to remove content it believed was “not completely truthful and accurate.”
From Washington Post
Later impacts inside the SPA basin may have dug into these buried deposits and exposed some of them at the surface, potentially making them accessible to robotic missions and future astronauts.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026
General Turki al-Malki, the spokesman for the Riyadh-led groups, said they would act "directly and at the appropriate moment ... to protect civilian life", according to the Saudi news agency SPA.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
And while the SPA hopes that a stronger GI will boost acclaim and business, it is also about pride in a product intimately linked to Jamaica's history.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025
“The life of an animal should not be conditional to a human’s,” La SPA said before adding that it would take in Loubo and find the dog a new home and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
The hissing sound of S entered into the ramifications of so many sounds, as in STA, STU, SPA, SPE, that it would have required a large addition to his alphabet to meet this demand.
From Se-quo-yah; from Harper's New Monthly, V.41 by Unknown
Peptides are a rising favorite of wellness medical spas and longevity clinics, despite being largely unstudied and sold in the U.S. with research-use-only labels.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
Hotel spas around Southeast Asia are developing treatments to address their customers’ most frequent complaint: debilitating jet lag.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
His firm, Leon Capital Group, even runs medical spas that help smooth the wrinkles of women and men seeking Botox treatments and fancy facials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
It is one of the only spas with natural, alkaline hot springs in L.A., so the water is just heavenly.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Though dinner with the captain may be a thing of the past, the ships still pamper guests with spas, boutiques, and sophisticated restaurants.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
