spare tyre
Britishnoun
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an additional tyre, usually mounted on a wheel, carried by a motor vehicle in case of puncture
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slang a deposit of fat just above the waist
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.
"A leading nation like Italy doesn't act as anyone's spare tyre," she declared to cheers and applause from the crowd.
From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025
He had several mobile phones on the go – after his death, more were found in the spare tyre of his car.
From The Guardian • Sep. 29, 2018
I later found out that "Stepney" means "spare tyre" - from a Welsh firm that made tyres in the 1910s.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2014
Thrust into the presidential race when the Brotherhood's first-choice candidate was disqualified, he was dismissed at first as the "spare tyre" but did in time grow in confidence.
From Reuters • Jul. 3, 2013
And this is as sure as you'll find the only bit of glass on the road when you're automobiling if you don't just happen to be toting a spare tyre.
From The Son of his Father by Cullum, Ridgwell
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.
