spruce

1 of 3

verb

spruced; sprucing

transitive verb

: to make spruce
often used with up

intransitive verb

: to make oneself spruce
spruce up a bit

spruce

2 of 3

adjective

sprucer; sprucest
: neat or smart in appearance : trim
sprucely adverb
spruceness noun

spruce

3 of 3

noun

plural spruces also 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 (such as Douglas fir) of similar habit
2
: the wood of a spruce

Examples of spruce in a Sentence

Adjective He looked very spruce in his new suit. a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Why not just add more fire and dice around the place to spruce it up? Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 The couple's vision is to spruce it up while retaining its charm, beginning with building a new and larger kitchen. The Indianapolis Star, 29 Jan. 2024 The warning spurred the sign’s first real restoration: The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spruced it up and, crucially, removed the last four letters. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 Backyard Architectural Interest Homeowners are investing big time in their outdoor space big time this year, sprucing it up for summer and fall entertaining. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2023 Dark, Monochrome Exteriors Homeowners are taking a paintbrush to their front and backyards to spruce them up and give them a sleek, contemporary look. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2023 Between its six cool colors from fuchsia to spruce, you’re bound to find the perfect Smartwool base layer for your travels. Marissa Miller, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2023 Luckily, paint is one of the quickest and easiest ways to spruce it up. Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 30 Aug. 2023 Finally, Welch spruces each project up, delivering finishing touches and an eye for aesthetic. Abby Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 July 2023
Adjective
For the last four years, the National Science Foundation has funded a collaborative project among the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), Amherst College, and Alaska Pacific University (APU) to study how spruce forests shift northward. Roman Dial, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2022 The interior is built from spruce wood planks and beech dowels, which means that residents can reassemble walls, dividers, counters, storage and furniture as needed to transform the space. CNN, 27 May 2021 Enthusiasm, thoughtful analysis and humor were part of her teaching style: plasticity of the upper body, spruce footwork and imaginative theatricality were her objectives. Alastair MacAulay, New York Times, 24 July 2019 While spruce pollen is irritating to local residents, the massive pollen release could be a boon to the region’s forests, which have been decimated in recent years by beetle and aphid infestations brought on by rising temperatures. The Economist, 4 July 2019 The site comprises deserts, riparian forests and floodplains of the Ili River, deciduous and spruce forests as well as salt marshes. National Geographic, 14 June 2017 The site comprises deserts, riparian forests and floodplains of the Ili River, deciduous and spruce forests as well as salt marshes. Alex Treadway, National Geographic, 14 June 2017 At this point, there’s nothing stopping the spruce beetle. Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2017 A spruce hen aggressively defended her chicks from competitors. Alaska Dispatch News, 30 June 2017
Noun
Aranya Black Pepper Curio Spice Kampot Black Peppercorn Grown in the Kampot region of southern Cambodia, these peppercorns are sourced directly from small farms and taste woodsy and floral, with delicate aromas of jasmine, eucalyptus, and spruce. Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 7 Jan. 2024 In places where there are likely to be few raccoons, such as spruce forests in northeastern Vermont, only about 37 baits per square kilometer are dropped. Emily Mullin, WIRED, 29 Aug. 2023 Long, uncut boards of mahogany, teak, and spruce are stacked in one section of the 25,000-square-foot building, a space that also includes the paint booth and a fiberglass department with enough preprepared composites for a pair of new hulls. Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 18 Feb. 2024 Expertly crafted of spruce, the rustic look of the wood contrasts handsomely with a modern metal base. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 8 Feb. 2024 New appliances, indoor plumbing, a 50-foot spruce, and a reindeer corral put it over the top. Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Dec. 2023 Most of the schooner's cargo, about 90,000 feet of spruce planks, was washed ashore by the waves. CBS News, 15 Jan. 2024 An experienced hiker has a small spruce tree — and forest rangers — to thank for saving her life. Brian Anthony Hernandez, Peoplemag, 8 Jan. 2024 The wretch in question has cut down one of the speaker’s spruce trees without his permission. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spruce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

perhaps from obsolete English Spruce leather leather imported from Prussia

Noun

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

First Known Use

Verb

1594, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1598, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of spruce was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near spruce

Cite this Entry

“Spruce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spruce

1 of 3 verb
spruced; sprucing
: to make or make oneself spruce
spruce up a room
spruce up a bit before going out to dinner

spruce

2 of 3 adjective
sprucer; sprucest
: neat or stylish in appearance
sprucely adverb
spruceness noun

spruce

3 of 3 noun
1
: any of a genus of usually pyramid-shaped evergreen trees that are related to the pines and have soft light wood
2
: the wood of a spruce

More from Merriam-Webster on spruce

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