Entry Word: spare

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 being over what is needed <I had some spare time to kill, so I cleaned up my room a bit>

Synonyms excess, extra, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus

Related Words accessory, additional, supplemental, supplementary; dispensable, extraneous, gratuitous, needless, nonessential, unessential, unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted

Near Antonyms inadequate, insufficient, meager, scant, scanty, scarce, short, sparse

2 giving or sharing as little as possible <a man who is kind and gentle but definitely spare of speech> — see stingy 1
3 having a noticeably small amount of body fat <a tall, spare man> — see thin 1
4 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable <spare vegetation that made foraging very difficult> — see meager