spare
Americanverb (used with object)
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spares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spared,
past participle, past
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sparing
present participle
-
to refrain from harming or destroying; leave uninjured; forbear to punish, hurt, or destroy.
to spare one's enemy.
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to deal gently or leniently with; show consideration for.
His harsh criticism spared no one.
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to save from strain, discomfort, embarrassment, or the like, or from a particular cause of it: to spare her needless embarrassment.
to spare him the bother;
to spare her needless embarrassment.
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to refrain from, forbear, omit, or withhold, as action or speech.
Spare us the gory details.
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to refrain from employing, as some instrument or recourse.
to spare the rod.
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to set aside for a particular purpose.
to spare land for a garden.
- Synonyms:
- reserve
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to give or lend, as from a supply, especially without inconvenience or loss: Can you spare me a dollar till payday?
Can you spare a cup of sugar?
Can you spare me a dollar till payday?
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to dispense with or do without.
We can't spare a single worker during the rush hour.
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to use economically or frugally; refrain from using up or wasting.
A walnut sundae, and don't spare the whipped cream!
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to have remaining as excess or surplus.
We can make the curtains and have a yard to spare.
verb (used without object)
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spares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spared,
past participle, past
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sparing
present participle
-
to use economy; be frugal.
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to refrain from inflicting injury or punishment; exercise lenience or mercy.
-
Obsolete. to refrain from action; forbear.
adjective
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sparer,
comparative
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sparest
superlative
-
kept in reserve, as for possible use.
a spare part.
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being in excess of present need; free for other use.
How do you like to relax in your spare time?
My travel adventures seem to soak up any spare cash I earn.
- Synonyms:
- extra
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frugally restricted or meager, as a manner of living or a diet.
a spare regime.
-
lean or thin, as a person.
-
scanty or scant, as in amount or fullness.
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economical, moderate, or temperate, as persons; sparing.
noun
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spares
plural
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a spare thing, part, etc., as an extra tire for emergency use.
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Ceramics. an area at the top of a plaster mold for holding excess slip.
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Bowling.
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the knocking down of all the pins with two bowls.
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a score so made.
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verb
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(tr) to refrain from killing, punishing, harming, or injuring
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(tr) to release or relieve, as from pain, suffering, etc
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(tr) to refrain from using
spare the rod, spoil the child
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(tr) to be able to afford or give
I can't spare the time
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(usually passive) (esp of Providence) to allow to survive
I'll see you again next year if we are spared
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rare (intr) to act or live frugally
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rare (intr) to show mercy
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to exert oneself to the full
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more than is required
two minutes to spare
adjective
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(often immediately postpositive) in excess of what is needed; additional
are there any seats spare?
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able to be used when needed
a spare part
-
(of a person) thin and lean
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scanty or meagre
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slang (postpositive) upset, angry, or distracted (esp in the phrase go spare )
noun
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a duplicate kept as a replacement in case of damage or loss
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a spare tyre
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tenpin bowling
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the act of knocking down all the pins with the two bowls of a single frame
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the score thus made Compare strike
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Synonym Usage
See thin.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sparesimple
-
sparessimple
-
have sparedperfect
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has sparedperfect
-
am sparingprogressive
-
are sparingprogressive
-
is sparingprogressive
-
have been sparingperfect progressive
-
has been sparingperfect progressive
Past
-
sparedsimple
-
had sparedperfect
-
was sparingprogressive
-
were sparingprogressive
-
had been sparingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spare
First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English sparen, Old English sparian; cognate with Dutch, German sparen, Old Norse spara; (noun and adjective) Middle English; compare Old English spær “sparing, frugal” (cognate with Old High German spar, Old Norse sparr
Explanation
Spare describes something that is extra. If you have a spare tire for your bike you can replace a flat, and if there's enough change in your pocket you can spare some to patch a friend's tire. As a noun, a verb, and an adjective, the word spare has many meanings. A leftover part is a spare, you can spare a life when you save an animal or person, and you have spare time when you finish a project early. If you "spare no expense" you spend lots of money and when you spare a friend's feelings, you keep upsetting details to yourself. And if you have a moment to spare, you have time to share.
Vocabulary lists containing spare
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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'Tis A Gift To Be Simple: Words For National Simplicity Day
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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:
I’m the sarcastic title character in grunge wear and she’s the younger sister Quinn, her complete antithesis, in a pink crop top with plenty of eye rolls and sighs to spare for her older sister.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
That matters because India has little sugar to spare.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
If the courts don’t stop Pike’s execution, the public should urge Gov. Bill Lee to spare her life.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
The pair -- dubbed "the heir and the spare" from an early age -- have failed to put aside their differences, despite their father King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was Simon who taught Alexander how to use the sextant and had even sent him his spare one as a gift.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
She set up the shed to sell any spares.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The pope will arrive by helicopter, a diplomatic subtlety that spares him from landing on French soil without actually visiting France.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
The move spares the concerts-and-ticketing giant from the threat of its business being broken up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
She said the court should hand down a “narrow” decision that spares her client.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
“If God spares Beth, I never will complain again,” whispered Meg earnestly.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Underwater aesthetics are sadly sparer, accentuating the fluorescent marine fauna.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
Both Churchill and Zelenskyy inspired with their rhetoric, though Churchill’s words were more grandiose, while the Ukrainian leader’s message is sparer and more direct.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
Though its sparer instrumentation deviates from the futuristic electronic synthesis of “Running Up That Hill,” it shares in the song’s openness and wonder, in its enlightened feeling of breaking through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
The collection and staging were sparer and less eccentric than his usual fare.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 22, 2019
Welkie noted the half-ironical smile, but he answered simply, evenly: "It's not in me; but I'd live even a sparer life than I do, if I thought anybody after me had a chance."
From Sonnie-Boy's People by James B. (James Brendan) Connolly
It is not the city’s fanciest, or its sparest.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2022
He’s known to demand only the sparest detail in his briefings, and his workdays frequently include hours watching cable news and posting on Twitter.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 1, 2020
Here’s Berlin’s great gift — or, one of them: the power to spark life on the page using the sparest of words.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2018
Inside each is only the sparest of personal belongings: pots, plates and cups, a bag or two of clothes and a plastic mat to sleep on.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 25, 2017
They understood each other, using the sparest words.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Even the National Weather Service’s Oxnard station wasn’t spared — topping out at 87 degrees, besting a record of 85 set in 1931.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Yet Scotland has not been spared the impact of drier weather this summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
While mountainous areas have been spared the worst of the heat, the exceptional temperatures have seen a record number of rockfalls in the Alps, according to a French scientist.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“With no expense spared, this property boasts luxury quality construction, with grand scale and volume throughout, flooded with fresh air and brilliant Southern California sunlight,” the description states.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He spared a moment to check on his mother.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The magistrate called the incident "a single act of stupidity or frustration" when sparing him a criminal record.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Cogan also said Zamabda deserved credit for sparing the government the difficulty and cost of going to trial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
In justifying the repeal of its former rule, the SEC argued that repeal made negotiating settlements easier and cheaper — thus, sparing the SEC’s scarce resources.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
It can be broken into hydrogen and oxygen to produce rocket fuel, sparing tomorrow’s explorers the need to carry enough for the trip home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
I say to the others, not sparing another thought for the dead men.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
