Definition of SPARE

spare

Plural: spares

Noun

  • an extra component of a machine or other apparatus
  • an extra car wheel and tire for a four-wheel vehicle
  • a score in tenpins; knocking down all ten after rolling two balls
  • The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
  • Parsimony; frugal use.
  • An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
  • That which has not been used or expended.
  • A spare part, especially a spare tire.
  • A superfluous or second-best person.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.
  • assistant or extra hand (typically on buses and lorries)

Verb

Verb Forms: spared, sparing, spares

  • To refrain from harming, punishing, or destroying someone or something.
  • refrain from harming
  • save or relieve from an experience or action
    • "I'll spare you from having to apologize formally"
  • give up what is not strictly needed
    • "he asked if they could spare one of their horses to speed his journey"
  • use frugally or carefully
  • To show mercy, to have mercy on.
  • To desist; to stop; to refrain.
  • To show mercy, to have mercy on.
  • To refrain from inflicting harm; to use mercy or forbearance.
  • 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 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.
  • To keep.
  • To be frugal; to not be profuse; to live frugally; to be parsimonious.
  • To keep.
  • To keep to oneself; to forbear to impart or give.
  • To keep.
  • To save or gain, as by frugality; to reserve, as from some occupation, use, or duty.
  • (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.

Adjective Satellite

  • thin and fit
    • "the spare figure of a marathon runner"
  • more than is needed, desired, or required
    • "sleeping in the spare room"
  • not taken up by scheduled activities
    • "spare time on my hands"
  • kept in reserve especially for emergency use
    • "a spare tire"
    • "spare parts"
  • lacking in amplitude or quantity
    • "a spare diet"
  • lacking embellishment or ornamentation

Adj

  • Extra.
  • Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
  • Extra.
  • Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
  • Extra.
  • Not occupied or in current use.
  • Not plentiful.
  • Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
  • Not plentiful.
  • Austere, stripped down, without what is extraneous.
  • Not plentiful.
  • Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
  • Not plentiful.
  • Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
  • Very angry; frustrated or distraught.

Adjective

  • Available for use; additional to what is required; meager.

Examples

  • a spare anchor; a spare wheel or tyre
  • a spare diet
  • an heir and a spare
  • He chose to SPARE his opponent by not playing a challenging seven-letter word this turn.
  • I have no spare time.
  • The poor girl is going spare, stuck in the house all day with the kids like that.
  • We could rent out the spare room.
  • When he found out that someone had broken the window, he went spare.
  • With a SPARE ’S’ on his rack, he eyed the empty triple word score square.

Origin / Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

bare, dispense with, excess, extra, fifth wheel, free, give up, part with, plain, redundant, save, scanty, spare part, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus, trim, unembellished, unornamented

Scrabble Score: 7

spare: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
spare: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
spare: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

spare: valid Words With Friends Word