What does "spare" mean?
The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
Spare
/spɛə(ɹ)/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
- Grammar: spare is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abandon, abjure, absolve, abstain.
- Useful contrasts: environmental impact, fleshy, frillier.
- Usage evidence: We have three spare rooms, none of which can be used.
How to use "spare"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spare" 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 "spare" 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 "spare" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spare" 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 "spare" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang 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 "abandon" 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 "spare", 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 The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
"men slaine, then without any spare at all they trampled over the dead carkasses"
- 2 a score in tenpins; knocking down all ten after rolling two balls wordnet
- 3 Parsimony; frugal use.
"Pourd out their plenty, without spight or spare:"
- 4 an extra car wheel and tire for a four-wheel vehicle wordnet
- 5 An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 an extra component of a machine or other apparatus wordnet
- 7 That which has not been used or expended.
- 8 A spare part, especially a spare tire.
- 9 A superfluous or second-best person.
"an heir and a spare"
- 10 The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
- 11 The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
- 12 A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class. Canada
"I also remember watching David Letterman's short-lived morning show on TV when I had a spare during my school schedule."
- 13 assistant or extra hand (typically on buses and lorries) Myanmar
Verb
- 1 To show mercy, to have mercy on.; To desist; to stop; to refrain. intransitive
- 2 use frugally or carefully wordnet
- 3 To show mercy, to have mercy on.; To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance. intransitive
- 4 give up what is not strictly needed wordnet
- 5 To show mercy, to have mercy on.; To preserve (someone) from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm (someone); to show mercy towards. transitive
"For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance."
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- 6 refrain from harming wordnet
- 7 To show mercy, to have mercy on.; To preserve (someone) from danger or punishment; to forbear to punish, injure, or harm (someone); to show mercy towards.; To refrain from killing (someone) or having (someone) killed. specifically, transitive
"Kill me, if you please, or spare me."
- 8 save or relieve from an experience or action wordnet
- 9 To keep.; To be frugal; to not be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious. intransitive
"I, who at some times spend, at others spare, / Divided between carelessness and care."
- 10 To keep.; To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give. transitive
"Thou that day / Thy Father's dreadful thunder didst not spare"
- 11 To keep.; To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty. transitive
"All the time he could spare from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, from assaults, and the naturall refreshing of his body, be bestowed in praier and seruing of God"
- 12 (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with. transitive
"Where angry Jove did never spare / One breath of kind and temperate air."
Adjective
- 1 Extra.; Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
"I have no spare time."
- 2 Extra.; Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
"a spare anchor; a spare wheel or tyre"
- 3 Extra.; Not occupied or in current use.
"We could rent out the spare room."
- 4 Not plentiful.; Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
"a spare diet"
- 5 Not plentiful.; Austere, stripped down, without what is extraneous.
"I’m naked to the bone, With nakedness my shield. Myself is what I wear: I keep the spirit spare."
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- 6 Not plentiful.; Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
"He was spare, […]but discreet of speech."
- 7 Not plentiful.; Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
"O, give me the spare men, and spare me the great ones."
- 8 Very angry; frustrated or distraught. UK, informal
"When he found out that someone had broken the window, he went spare."
Adjective
- 1 lacking embellishment or ornamentation wordnet
- 2 lacking in magnitude or quantity wordnet
- 3 thin and fit wordnet
- 4 more than is needed, desired, or required wordnet
- 5 kept in reserve especially for emergency use wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 not taken up by scheduled activities wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"We have three spare rooms, none of which can be used."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spare"?
Common synonyms include: abandon, abjure, absolve, abstain, abstain from, abstemious.
How do you use "spare" in a sentence?
We have three spare rooms, none of which can be used.
How do you pronounce "spare"?
Pronounced /spɛə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-. Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English sparen, sparien, from Old English sparian (“to spare, show mercy to, refrain from injuring or destroying”), from Proto-Germanic *sparōną, *sparāną (“to save, keep, spare”), from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to be productive, earn”). Cognate with Scots spar, spare, spair (“to spare”), West Frisian sparje (“to save, spare”), Dutch sparen (“to save, spare”), German sparen (“to save, conserve, economise”), Swedish spara (“to save, save up”), Icelandic spara (“to save, conserve”).
Etymology 3
From spare, a nickname for a frugal person.