spar

[ spahr ]

/ spɑr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spar ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Nautical. a stout pole such as those used for masts, etc.; a mast, yard, boom, gaff, or the like.

Aeronautics. a principal lateral member of the framework of a wing of an airplane.

verb (used with object), sparred, spar·ring.

to provide or make with spars.

Nearby words

spanner, spanrail, spanspek, spansule, spanworm, spar, spar buoy, spar deck, spar varnish, spar with, sparable

Origin of spar

1250–1300; Middle English sparre (noun); cognate with German Sparren, Dutch spar, Old Norse sparri

Related forms

spar·like, adjective

Definition for spar (2 of 5)

spar

[ spahr ]

/ spɑr /

verb (used without object), sparred, spar·ring.

(of boxers) to make the motions of attack and defense with the arms and fists, especially as a part of training.

to box, especially with light blows.

to strike or attack with the feet or spurs, as gamecocks do.

to bandy words; dispute.

noun

a motion of sparring.

a boxing match.

a dispute.

Origin of spar

1350–1400; Middle English: orig., thrust (noun and v.); perhaps akin to spur¹

Definition for spar (3 of 5)

spar

[ spahr ]

/ spɑr /

noun

any of various more or less lustrous crystalline minerals: fluorspar.

Origin of spar

1575–85; back formation from sparstone spar, Old English spærstān gypsum; compare Middle Low German spar

Related forms

spar·like, adjective

Definition for spar (4 of 5)

SPAR

or Spar

[ spahr ]

/ spɑr /

noun

(during World War II) a woman enlisted in the women's reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard (disbanded in 1946).

Origin of SPAR

1942; < Latin S(emper) par(ātus) “Always ready” the Coast Guard motto

Definition for spar (5 of 5)

SpAr

Spanish Arabic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spar

Spar has a new book titled The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human Reproduction|Eleanor Clift|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Asked if the ability to reproduce should be a human right, Spar said she would leave that for the philosophers to think about.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human Reproduction|Eleanor Clift|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But an island any less menacing would fail to breed a villain who could hope to spar with James Bond.
Japan's James Bond Villain Ghost Town|Nina Strochlic|August 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Cruz followed Lee on the Senate floor to spar with McCain.
Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee: When Freshmen Attack|Patricia Murphy|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

By Monday, however, Santorum had learned to deflect questions on hot-button social issues rather than spar with potential voters.
Santorum’s New Hampshire Expectations Plummet as Iowa Glow Wears Off|Lois Romano|January 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You may wonder why the man does not follow up the spar until he actually reaches the den or lair of the animal.
Bruin|Mayne Reid
If we could knock away a spar, with our long eighteen, we might get one of them.
Held Fast For England|G. A. Henty
At last they found a plank, and not far off a spar, and then another plank.
Paul Gerrard|W.H.G. Kingston
Mr. Walker went back for the end of the spar and Mr. Smith cut some firewood.
Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North-West And Western Australia, Vol. 2 (of 2)|George Grey
Our old man would have cut a spar somewhere from the forest and rigged her square, if it was only a jury-mast.
The Ocean Cat's Paw|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for spar (1 of 3)

spar

/ (spɑː) /

noun

any piece of nautical gear resembling a pole and used as a mast, boom, gaff, etc
(as modifier)a spar buoy

a principal supporting structural member of an aerofoil that runs from tip to tip or root to tip

Word Origin for spar

C13: from Old Norse sperra beam; related to Old High German sparro, Old French esparre

British Dictionary definitions for spar (2 of 3)

spar

/ (spɑː) /

verb spars, sparring or sparred (intr)

boxing martial arts to fight using light blows, as in training

to dispute or argue

(of gamecocks) to fight with the feet or spurs

noun

an unaggressive fight

an argument or wrangle

informal a close friend

Word Origin for spar

Old English, perhaps from spur

British Dictionary definitions for spar (3 of 3)

spar

/ (spɑː) /

noun

any of various minerals, such as feldspar or calcite, that are light-coloured, microcrystalline, transparent to translucent, and easily cleavableRelated adjective: spathic

Word Origin for spar

C16: from Middle Low German spar; related to Old English spærstān; see feldspar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012