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• spirit
  spirit

  noun

  the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.
• Spirit
  Spirit

spirit

American  

[spir-it] / ˈspɪr ɪt /

noun

• spirits
  plural

1. the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.

2. the incorporeal part of humans.

   present in spirit though absent in body.

   Synonyms:

   essence, consciousness, mind, life

3. the soul regarded as separating from the body at death.

4. conscious, incorporeal being, as opposed to matter.

   the world of spirit.

5. a supernatural, incorporeal being, especially one inhabiting a place, object, etc., or having a particular character.

   evil spirits.

   Synonyms:

   shade, phantom, apparition

6. a fairy, sprite, or elf.

   Synonyms:

   hobgoblin, goblin

7. an angel or demon.

   Synonyms:

   genius

8. an attitude or principle that inspires, animates, or pervades thought, feeling, or action.

   the spirit of reform.

9. (initial capital letter) the divine influence as an agency working in the human heart.

10. a divine, inspiring, or animating being or influence. Numbers 11:25; Isaiah 32:15.

11. (initial capital letter) the third person of the Trinity; Holy Spirit.

12. the soul or heart as the seat of feelings or sentiments, or as prompting to action.

    a man of broken spirit.

13. spirits, feelings or mood with regard to exaltation or depression.

    low spirits; good spirits.

14. excellent disposition or attitude in terms of vigor, courage, firmness of intent, etc.; mettle.

    That's the spirit!

    Synonyms:

    enterprise, fire, ardor, zeal, energy, enthusiasm

15. temper or disposition.

    meek in spirit.

    Synonyms:

    humor, mood, attitude

16. an individual as characterized by a given attitude, disposition, character, action, etc..

    A few brave spirits remained to face the danger.

17. the dominant tendency or character of anything.

    the spirit of the age.

    Synonyms:

    complexion, sense, essence, gist, tenor, drift, nature

18. vigorous sense of membership in a group.

    college spirit.

19. the general meaning or intent of a statement, document, etc. (opposed to letter).

    the spirit of the law.

    Synonyms:

    purport, significance, intention

20. Chemistry. the essence or active principle of a substance as extracted in liquid form, especially by distillation.

21. Often spirits a strong distilled alcoholic liquor.

22. Chiefly British. alcohol.

23. Pharmacology. a solution in alcohol of an essential or volatile principle; essence.

24. any of certain subtle fluids formerly supposed to permeate the body.

25. the Spirit, God

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adjective

1. pertaining to something that works by burning alcoholic spirits.

   a spirit stove.

2. of or relating to spiritualist bodies or activities.

verb (used with object)

• spirits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spirited,
  past participle,  past
• spiriting
  present participle

1. to animate with fresh ardor or courage; inspirit.

2. to encourage; urge on or stir up, as to action.

3. to carry off mysteriously or secretly (often followed by away oroff ).

   His captors spirited him away.

idioms

1. out of spirits, in low spirits; depressed.

   We were feeling out of spirits after so many days of rain.

spirit ¹ British  

/ ˈspɪrɪt /

noun

1. the force or principle of life that animates the body of living things

2. temperament or disposition

   truculent in spirit

3. liveliness; mettle

   they set to it with spirit

4. the fundamental, emotional, and activating principle of a person; will

   the experience broke his spirit

5. a sense of loyalty or dedication

   team spirit

6. the prevailing element; feeling

   a spirit of joy pervaded the atmosphere

7. state of mind or mood; attitude

   he did it in the wrong spirit

8. (plural) an emotional state, esp with regard to exaltation or dejection

   in high spirits

9. a person characterized by some activity, quality, or disposition

   a leading spirit of the movement

10. the deeper more significant meaning as opposed to a pedantic interpretation

    the spirit of the law

11. that which constitutes a person's intangible being as contrasted with his physical presence

    I shall be with you in spirit

12. 1. an incorporeal being, esp the soul of a dead person

    2. ( as modifier )

       spirit world

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verb

1. to carry off mysteriously or secretly

2. (often foll by up) to impart animation or determination to

spirit ² British  

/ ˈspɪrɪt /

noun

1. (often plural) any distilled alcoholic liquor such as brandy, rum, whisky, or gin

2. chem

   1. an aqueous solution of ethanol, esp one obtained by distillation

   2. the active principle or essence of a substance, extracted as a liquid, esp by distillation

3. pharmacol

   1. a solution of a volatile substance, esp a volatile oil, in alcohol

   2. ( as modifier )

      a spirit burner

4. alchemy any of the four substances sulphur, mercury, sal ammoniac, or arsenic

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Spirit ³ British  

/ ˈspɪrɪt /

noun

1. 1. another name for the Holy Spirit

   2. God, esp when regarded as transcending material limitations

2. the influence of God or divine things upon the soul

3. Christian Science God or divine substance

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spirit More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing spirit

• kindred spirit

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Synonym Usage

See ghost.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonspirit
  noun
• outspirit
  verb (used with object)
• spiritlike
  adjective
• unspiriting
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spirits
  plural

Participles

• spiriting
  present
• spirited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spirit
  simple
• spirits
  simple
• have spirited
  perfect
• has spirited
  perfect
• am spiriting
  progressive
• are spiriting
  progressive
• is spiriting
  progressive
• have been spiriting
  perfect progressive
• has been spiriting
  perfect progressive

Past

• spirited
  simple
• had spirited
  perfect
• was spiriting
  progressive
• were spiriting
  progressive
• had been spiriting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spirit
  simple
• will have spirited
  perfect
• will be spiriting
  progressive
• will have been spiriting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spirit

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English (noun), from Latin spīritus originally, “a breathing,” equivalent to spīri-, combining form representing spīrāre “to breathe” + -tus suffix of verb action

Explanation

If someone tells you you have a sagging spirit, that means your life-force seems to be missing. Spirit comes from the Latin word for "breath," and like breath, spirit is considered a fundamental part of being alive. Some people think of the spirit as a presence that's separate from the body, which is why spirit is another word for ghost. We also use spirit to mean "the general mood or intent," like when you tell your former enemy, "I approach you in the spirit of kindness."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spirit Spirit spirits spirited spiriting

He added: "People get right into the spirit of it," talking about the visitors.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

“There’s this delusional competitive spirit, when you’ve been told ‘No’ your entire life,” Brophy said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

We did, however, register a website for our new school ventures, ProPublicaAcademy.com, and even designed some fun pencils to show our school spirit.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

That this doesn’t play like jokey stunt casting speaks to the spirit of communal, all-hands-on-deck engagement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

In just a few weeks, the spirit had answered so many questions so accurately that residents felt responsible for finding the peddler’s murderer.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

At the planting of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, he handed Queen Camilla the last poppy to be placed to mark VE Day 80, according to the Spirit of Normandy.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

A spokesperson from the Spirit of Normandy Trust, a charity for veterans, said: "Henry was a great character, with a cheeky smile that endeared him to everyone he met."

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Before his foray into Spider-Man-related projects, Cage portrayed Johnny Blaze in the 2007 movie “Ghost Rider” and its sequel, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Last December, Boeing completed its biggest acquisition in years, when it paid $8.4 billion to buy its longtime—and then visibly struggling—fuselage supplier, Spirit AeroSystems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

‘I know, it doesn’t seem possible. But Saeunn’s sure of it. So am I. The listener must find the Mountain of the World Spirit -and then, with the Spirit’s help, he must destroy the bear.’

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Friday's mission raised more money for charity and also raised spirits, but not in a good way.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

That one’s about spirits from different eras who were forced to cohabitate mostly alone until a living human couple moved into their mansion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Sales in Constellation’s beer business, which includes Corona and Modelo, rose 5%, while its wine and spirits business saw a 17% increase in sales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The couple adopted Hobie as a child and said he had been in "good spirits" the last time they saw him before his death.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

If they refused, the spirits would leave in twenty minutes.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

These are just some of the bold, controversial statements that have come up at “Unpopular Opinion,” a live, interactive event where people share and defend their hot takes in front of a spirited audience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

Ms. would become known for spirited, frank coverage of subjects that were typically only spoken about quietly: workplace and domestic inequalities, domestic violence, homosexuality, racism, date rape.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Since 1982, policymakers and prominent economists have gathered in this valley ringed by mountains in Grand Teton National Park -- known to most people more for its bison than for spirited debates on macroeconomics.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Despite her spirited defence, jewellery company Giva announced on Wednesday it was pulling the ad.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Then each member of the crew, with a mother on one arm, a father or sister on the other, was spirited off down the street into little cottages or big mansions.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

“You can be in a sort of magpie mode where you’re always looking for things to use, and spiriting those things back to your creative process,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Parada, co-founder of the treasure-hunting outfit Finders Keepers, has long suspected the FBI of conducting a secret overnight dig for the gold and spiriting it away.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023

It has carried out spectacular missions such as hunting down Arab enemies through Europe, capturing Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and, with agents disguised as scuba diving instructors, spiriting Ethiopian Jews out to Israel.

From Reuters ● Aug. 1, 2023

L’Avant-Garde wastes zero time spiriting patrons across the pond.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023

Now the taxi turned right, spiriting her off in the opposite direction.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• character
• courage
• energy
• enthusiasm
• essence
• heart
• humor
• life
• mood
• morale
• quality
• resolve
• temperament
• vigor
• vitality
• warmth
• will