spare tire

American  

noun

spare tires plural

1. a tire used or kept available as an emergency replacement on a vehicle.

2. Informal. excess fat around the waistline.

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spare tire Idioms  

1. Fat around one's middle, as in He's determined to lose ten pounds and that spare tire he's acquired. This expression transfers the term for an extra tire carried in cars in case of a flat tire to excess fat around the waist. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spare tires
  plural

Etymology

Origin of spare tire

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spare tire

The next morning, Sylvia finds him shivering and near-incoherent, sitting in a spare tire on the ground.

From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2024

Equipping a car with a spare tire increases the cost of building it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

Upon my arrival there, to my amazement, I found a gentleman, knelt down, almost finished mounting the spare tire.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2022

He said the truck’s left front tire, which was a spare tire, blew out before impact.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 18, 2022

The book that was the reason for their own journey was in the trunk, under the spare tire.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke