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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

Our great musicians spoke to the depth of the human spirit, and they believe in collective creativity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

“The real spirit of this whole trend, I believe, is the person’s uniqueness,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

"With an indomitable fighting spirit and superb skill in struggle," we must "proactively meet the major tests posed by high winds and rushing waters, or even by raging storms," he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Oka said he will remember her “beautiful spirit, immense talent and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

A skeptical attorney sat on the bed while Mrs. Fox asked the spirit questions.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Spirit said it is “engaging a third party to deidentify the data and certify that the data sold at auction is compliant with applicable privacy laws and regulations.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The sale agreement between Google and Spirit mandates that the data be “deidentified” to remove elements that would link the information to a consumer or otherwise be considered personal data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

A bankruptcy court delayed approval of Google’s $10 million purchase of Spirit Airlines’ data after former flight attendants objected, warning that the deal could violate worker privacy to feed artificial intelligence models.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Fire's men still have hopes of making the Eliminator, though, but must win big against Spirit in their match at 15:00 to boost their net run-rate.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Someone else had heard that a landslide could send all the water in Spirit Lake down into the valley.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

A bustling mountain town in the French Alps, Chamonix is known to attract adventurous spirits as both residents and tourists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

The movie, starring Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea and Maisie Richardson-Sellers, follows the story of a young woman who can bring spirits into the mortal world but is herself haunted.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

Elise informs Gemma that she has a special gift for making contact with those in the Further — and, even rarer, the ability to bring those spirits back into our world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

And losing to the defending champions, who also reached last season's Champions League final, was not going to dampen their spirits.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Once inside, people crowded around the parlor doors for their turn to speak with the Fox sisters’ spirits.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

If you, too, have abandoned bars of soap in your bathroom, Dan’s spirited and incredibly thorough reporting might just make you think twice the next time you stock up.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

A spirited, wonky discussion of cycling ethics and tactics?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Lifted by a spirited second-quarter showing, Mayo emerged for the second half and continued to rattle Kerry, shutting down space and flooding forward in numbers.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Some of it, probably, was warranted or in the spirited mission of liberty, as some will undoubtedly argue, but far from all of it.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

I had walked past her church before and heard music spilling from the falling-down clapboard building; the spirited singing and proclamations of joy emerging from it beat the other churches all hollow, to my mind.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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

War heroes: A student spiriting supplies to soldiers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2022

Instead, after a spiriting comeback attempt came short on Saturday, the Suns are heading back to Milwaukee and the Bucks have a chance to prevent this series from lasting seven.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 20, 2021

I have an image of spiriting Cordelia away, rescuing her.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

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