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:
According to city records first reported by Santa Monica Daily Press, the Victorian will be converted into a members club including a pool, spa, fitness center and coffee bistro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
I came across a new women’s-health-focused program at Sha Mexico, a medical spa and hotel in Costa Mujeres, just north of Cancún.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Yes, this horrendous TV egg could only have hatched in a place like Hollywood, where mother-daughter spa days might also mean going under the knife.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
That's changed since the festival's origins 170 years ago, when bachelor farmers and moneyed visitors would flock to the spa town of Lisdoonvarna to bathe in its mineral-rich waters and socialise.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
He had no children, just a wife, Glass, who ran a small healing spa next to the gym Hibiscus owned, where he trained Redemption and a couple of other kids.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
"It's proven to me I can do university and I will be able to succeed," Tabby said, who will be going to Bath Spa University.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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
That means that in 2028 and 2030 Spa will be replaced by another race.
From BBC ● 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
Italian luxury group Prada SpA is considering seeking at least $1 billion from a second listing in Milan and is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc on early preparations, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
From Reuters ● Aug. 13, 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
Separately, official statements carried by SPA said Houthi ballistic missiles and drones had been launched toward Riyadh and Khamis Mushait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
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
Et il était improbable que la SPA -- la Software Protection Authority -- manquerait de le pincer.
From The Right to Read by Richard M. Stallman
The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy conducted 1,102 proactive inspections of wellness clinics and medical spas between March 2025 and August 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
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
Adherents swear by cupping therapy as a way to manage muscle pain and detoxify, but more spas are touting it as the ideal postflight treatment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Unlike some Korean spas, which feature seemingly omnipresent TV screens playing Korean dramas or game shows, Spa Hyu has just three small TVs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Like in those spas in Arkansas and Colorado?”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
