What does "spade" mean?
A garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for digging. Not to be confused with a shovel which is used for moving earth or other materials.
Spade
/speɪ̯d/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for digging. Not to be confused with a shovel which is used for moving earth or other materials.
- Grammar: spade is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ace, aerate, american indian, amerind.
- Useful contrasts: bury, compact, cover.
- Usage evidence: He is the type of a person who calls a spade a spade.
How to use "spade"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spade" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spade" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spade" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spade" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spade" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ace" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spade", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for digging. Not to be confused with a shovel which is used for moving earth or other materials.
"'Make your mind easy,' Ratsey said; 'I have dug too often in this graveyard for any to wonder if they see me with a spade.'"
- 2 A playing card marked with the symbol ♠.
"I've got only one spade in my hand."
- 3 a sturdy hand shovel that can be pushed into the earth with the foot wordnet
- 4 A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale.
- 5 A black person. ethnic, offensive, slur
"And as for a divorce, I know plenty spades right here in Harlem get married any time they want to."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a playing card in the major suit that has one or more black figures on it wordnet
- 7 A device for terminating an electrical conductor resembling a small spade.
Verb
- 1 To turn over soil with a spade to loosen the ground for planting.
- 2 simple past and past participle of spay form-of, obsolete, participle, past
- 3 dig (up) with a spade wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"He is the type of a person who calls a spade a spade."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spade"?
Common synonyms include: ace, aerate, american indian, amerind, australian aborigine, backset.
How do you use "spade" in a sentence?
He is the type of a person who calls a spade a spade.
How do you pronounce "spade"?
Pronounced /speɪ̯d/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English spade, from Old English spada, spade, spadu (“spade”), from Proto-Germanic *spadô. Doublet of spatha, spathe, and épée.
Etymology 2
Probably from Italian spade, plural of spada (“the ace of spades”, literally “sword, spade”), from earlier *spata, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπᾰ́θη (spắthē). Cognate with Etymology 1. So called for the shape, though what the shape was exactly meant to represent has been debated.