spruce

1 of 3

verb

ˈsprüs 

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

Synonyms

Verb

• neaten
• pick up
• redd (up or out) [chiefly dialect]
• straighten (up or out)
• tidy (up)
• trim

Adjective

• dapper
• natty
• sharp
• smart
• snappy

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

This area deserves new owners and operators to come in, fix it, spruce it up and bring in new tenants. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024

Have a medium-length cut already but want to spruce it up? —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2024

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

Phrases Containing spruce

• black spruce
• blue spruce
• Colorado blue spruce
• Engelmann spruce
• Norway spruce
• red spruce
• Sitka spruce
• spruce beer
• spruce budworm
• spruce pine
• spruce up
• white spruce

Kids Definition

spruce

1 of 3 verb

ˈsprüs 

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