spruce

¹spruce

verb \ˈsprüs\

sprucedspruc·ing

Definition of SPRUCE

transitive verb

: to make spruce —often used with up

intransitive verb

: to make oneself spruce <spruce up a bit>

First Known Use of SPRUCE

1594

Rhymes with SPRUCE

crouse, crus, cruse, deuce, douce, goose, juice, loose, moose, mousse, noose, nous, puce, rhus, ruse, Russ, schuss, Seuss, sluice, truce, use, Zeus

²spruce

adjective

spruc·erspruc·est

Definition of SPRUCE

: neat or smart in appearance : trim

— spruce·ly adverb

— spruce·ness noun

Examples of SPRUCE

1. He looked very spruce in his new suit.
2. <a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit>

Origin of SPRUCE

perhaps from obsolete English Spruce leather leather imported from Prussia

First Known Use: 1599

Related to SPRUCE

Synonyms

dapper, natty, sharp, snappy, smart

Antonyms

disheveled (or dishevelled), frowsy (or frowzy), sloppy, slovenly, unkempt

Related Words

dolled up, dressy, elegant, formal, spiffed-up; orderly, tidy; à la mode (also a la mode), chic, fashionable, in, modish, stylish; careful, fastidious, fussy, meticulous; combed, groomed; clean, immaculate, pristine, spotless, squeaky-clean

Near Antonyms

messy, mussed, rumpled, uncombed, untidy, wrinkled; shabby, sleazy; dingy, dirty, filthy, foul, grimy, grubby, nasty, scroungy, scrubby, scruffy, scuzzy [slang], smirched, soiled, spotted, stained, sullied, unclean; dowdy, inelegant, unfashionable, unstylish

³spruce

noun

plural spruc·es also spruce

Definition of SPRUCE

1

a : any of a genus (Picea) of evergreen trees of the pine family with a conical head of dense foliage, flat or 4-sided needles, pendulous cones, and soft light wood

b : any of several coniferous trees (as Douglas fir) of similar habit

2

: the wood of a spruce

Origin of SPRUCE

obsolete Spruce Prussia, from Middle English, alteration of Pruce, from Anglo-French

First Known Use: 1670

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

spruce

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Black spruce (Picea mariana)—Grant Heilman Photography

Any of about 40 species of evergreen ornamental and timber trees that make up the genus Picea (pine family), native to temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These pyramid-shaped trees have whorled branches and thin, scaly bark. The needlelike, spirally arranged leaves connect to their stems via a peglike woody base, which remains on the twig when the leaf falls. Tough, finely grained, resonant, and pliable, spruce wood is used for sounding boards in pianos and bodies of violins, as well as in construction, for boats and barrels, and as pulpwood. Common species throughout most of northern North America are black spruce (P. mariana), a source of spruce gum, and white spruce (P. glauca), a source of good timber. Blue, or Colorado spruce (P. pungens) is used as an ornamental because of its bluish leaves and symmetrical growth habit.