spar

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈspär 

1

: a stout pole

2

a

: a stout rounded usually wood or metal piece (such as a mast, boom, gaff, or yard) used to support rigging

b

: any of the main longitudinal members of the wing of an airplane that carry the ribs

spar

2 of 5

verb

sparred; sparring

intransitive verb

1

a

: box entry 3

especially : to gesture without landing a blow to draw one's opponent or create an opening

b

: to engage in a practice or exhibition bout of boxing

2

: skirmish, wrangle

3

: to strike or fight with feet or spurs in the manner of a gamecock

spar

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

: a movement of offense or defense in boxing

2

: a sparring match or session

spar

4 of 5

noun (3)

: any of various nonmetallic usually cleavable and lustrous minerals

SPAR

5 of 5

noun (4)

ˈspär 

: a member of the women's reserve of the U.S. Coast Guard

Examples of spar in a Sentence

Verb

He's been sparring with his trainer.

They sparred playfully over whose team was better.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The two sides are sparring over whether Tesla can call an Apple engineering manager as a witness for a two-month trial set to start next week in state court in San Jose. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

Netanyahu team spars over draft status of ultra-Orthodox Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a coalition crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military. —Loveday Morris The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 30 Mar. 2024

Rostov’s childhood friend Mishka(*) keeps returning to the Metropol over the years, each time providing an update on the state of the Communist experiment, and to spar with the Count over which philosophy should triumph. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2024

With his fighting career in flux, McGregor has turned his attention to sparring with people on social media, which has touched a nerve in Ireland’s political establishment. —Caolán Magee, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024

Former Kansas City Councilwoman Becky Nace posted often on that page and, as committee chairwoman, has been representing the opposition on the debate stage, sparring with former Kansas City Mayor Sly James, who works for the teams’ campaign committee as a consultant. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024

Late last year, Biden and Netanyahu publicly sparred with over plans for post-war Gaza. —Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024

Politics In final primary debate, Senate candidates spar over Israel, immigration and campaign donations Feb. 21, 2024 The candidates tried to emphasize their unique flavors of progressive politics. —Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024

During rivaling trips to Texas 325 miles apart, Biden and Trump sparred in remarks aired within a half-hour of each other. —Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2024

Noun

However, beyond this immediate good news for Lions fans, Carlos and Shawn spar over whether we should be concerned if Coach Dan Campbell can hire the right replacement should Johnson leave the team. —Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 31 Jan. 2024

Craters pitted the earth; hummocks rose and fell; downed trees jutted from slash heaps like the spars of shipwrecks. —Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024

This dense mass, called a spar platform, works like the keel of a boat. —IEEE Spectrum, 23 Sep. 2023

There’s a 40,000-tonne spar platform that replaces the steel column with a cheaper, 285-meter-long column of concrete. —IEEE Spectrum, 23 Sep. 2023

Lawyers spar, sons testify, as Aretha Franklin estate trial gets underway in Pontiac Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin are proponents of the 2014 will. —Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2023

Jayapal, Nadler spar with Barr over Portland, politicization Since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, protests have occurred nightly in the city for more than 70 days. —USA TODAY, 10 Aug. 2020

Here are some highlights of their conversation: Musk and Yaccarino spar over content moderation The Miami discussion was cordial, although both participants drew some distinct lines in the sand. —David Hamilton, Fortune, 14 May 2023

The same 100 hp, 659 cc parallel-twin sits inside the same twin spar chassis. —Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 30 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English sparre; akin to Old English spere spear — more at spear

Verb

Middle English sparren to dart, spring

Noun (3)

Low German; akin to Old English spærstān gypsum, spæren of plaster

Noun (4)

Semper Paratus, motto of the U.S. Coast Guard, from New Latin, always ready

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1581, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1942, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing spar

• Iceland spar
• spar varnish

Kids Definition

spar

1 of 2 noun

ˈspär 

1

: a stout pole

2

: a long rounded usually wood or metal piece (as a mast, boom, or yard) to which a sail is fastened

spar

2 of 2 verb

sparred; sparring

1

: to box or make boxing movements with the fists for practice or in fun

2

: skirmish entry 2 sense 1

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sparre "a stout pole, a pole used to support a sail on a ship"

Verb

Middle English sparren "to dart, spring"