sparring

American  

[spahr-ing] / ˈspɑr ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of boxing with light blows, or of training by practicing the motions of attack and defense.

   I’m heading to the boxing gym to get in some sparring.

   Wu shu as a sport takes mainly two forms: the dancelike practice of the routine exercise, and the sparring in duels.

2. the act or process of disputing or bandying words.

   After some final sparring between opposing counsel, the prosecution made its closing argument.

3. the act of striking or attacking with the feet or spurs, as fighting roosters do.

   To prevent injury during sparring, they even put foam rubber covers on the spurs of their gamecocks.

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adjective

1. boxing with light blows, or practicing boxing motions of attack and defense.

   The place was packed with spectators cheering for the sparring boxers in the ring.

2. disputing or bandying words.

   The crew is a mix of personalities, from the friendly pilot to the constantly sparring pair of engineers who keep the ship running.

3. striking or attacking with the feet or spurs, as gamecocks do.

   This vintage table decoration features a pair of sparring roosters made of polished metal.

Etymology

Origin of sparring

First recorded in 1625–35; spar ² ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; spar ² ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Videos of him sparring with liberal-minded students garnered millions of views online.

From The Wall Street Journal

Paul likes to remind people that he’s a lightning quick study—he insists that he has never been knocked out or knocked down, not even in sparring.

From The Wall Street Journal

Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez and American puncher Jared Anderson are also sparring partners.

From BBC

Mat and Chris are sparring over Mat’s insistence that he will marry Anna.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sure enough, my PB&J comes out of the bag looking like a sumo wrestler used it as a sparring partner.

From Literature