spare

1 of 3

adjective

sparer; sparest
1
: not being used
especially : held for emergency use
a spare tire
2
: being over and above what is needed : superfluous
spare time
3
: not liberal or profuse : sparing
a spare prose style
4
: healthily lean
5
: not abundant or plentiful
sparely adverb
spareness noun

spare

2 of 3

verb

spared; sparing

transitive verb

1
: to forbear to destroy, punish, or harm
2
: to refrain from attacking or reprimanding with necessary or salutary severity
3
: to relieve of the necessity of doing or undergoing something
spare yourself the trouble
4
: to refrain from : avoid
spared no expense
5
: to use or dispense frugally
used chiefly in the negative
don't spare the syrup
6
a
: to give up as not strictly needed
do you have any cash to spare
b
: to have left over or as margin
time to spare

intransitive verb

1
: to be frugal
2
: to refrain from doing harm
spareable adjective
sparer noun

spare

3 of 3

noun

1
a
: a spare tire
b
: a duplicate (such as a key or a machine part) kept in reserve
2
: the knocking down of all 10 pins with the first 2 balls in a frame in bowling
Choose the Right Synonym for spare

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of spare in a Sentence

Adjective a spare pair of gloves I keep a spare set of keys in my desk. He has a spare frame. He was tall and spare. I like her spare style of writing. Verb No one knows why the gunman shot some people and spared others. Somehow the storm spared our house while nearby buildings were destroyed. She was spared from having to answer any more questions. He wanted to spare his family from the stress he had endured. I could have spared myself the trouble. He spared them the embarrassment of a public apology. If you could spare a cup of sugar, it would save me a trip to the store. Noun “I've lost the key.” “You'll find a spare in the drawer.” If that one breaks, I've got a spare. Most cars come with spares. He got a strike and two spares.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
One thing to consider is picking up a spare cast-iron skillet and leaving it with them. Josh Miller, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2024 At the man's Johnson City home, there was no power but there was water, so Jones was able to change into a spare suit, and make it to St Mary’s Church to walk his daughter Elizabeth down the aisle on time. Wendy Grossman Kantor, People.com, 30 Sep. 2024
Verb
Use them for your vast array of bathroom products or even spare toilet paper. Claire Rutter, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024 With less than two months to spare, Zachary Levi is making his political allegiance clear ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Glenn Garner, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2024
Noun
Use the yellow pair for dishwashing, the orange pair to clean the bathroom, the blue pair to wash the car, and the pink pair as a spare. Hyphensocial Contributors, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024 If those parts are not widely available, order spares and take them with you. Wes Siler, Outside Online, 31 May 2021 See all Example Sentences for spare 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spare.' 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

Middle English, from Old English spær sparing, scant; akin to Old High German spar spare

Verb

Middle English, from Old English sparian; akin to Old High German sparōn to spare, Old English spær, adjective, scant

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of spare was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near spare

Cite this Entry

“Spare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spare. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

spare

1 of 3 verb
ˈspa(ə)r How to pronounce spare (audio)
ˈspe(ə)r
spared; sparing
1
: to keep from being punished or harmed : show mercy
spared the prisoners
2
: to free of the need to do something
spare yourself the trouble
3
: to hold off from doing or spending
spare no cost
4
: to use or give out in small amounts
more pancakes, please, and don't spare the syrup
5
a
: to give up as not really needed
can you spare me a few minutes
couldn't spare a dime
b
: to have left over
got there with time to spare

spare

2 of 3 adjective
sparer; sparest
1
: held in reserve
a spare tire
2
: being over what is needed
spare time
3
: not generous or wasteful : sparing
4
: somewhat thin
5
: not abundant or plentiful : scanty
sparely adverb
spareness noun

spare

3 of 3 noun
1
: a spare or duplicate piece or part
2
: the knocking down of all 10 bowling pins with the first two balls in a frame in bowling
Etymology

Verb

Old English sparian "to refrain from harming"

Adjective

Middle English spare "being extra or more than is needed"

More from Merriam-Webster on spare

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