: to remove the ovaries and uterus of (a female animal)
Examples of spay in a Sentence
Our cat has been spayed.
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The dog will also likely need laser therapy to repair the skin and hair around her snout, as well as vaccines, spaying surgery and other health treatments down the road, officials said.—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026 Both cats and dogs need to be at least a year old, have been spayed or neutered and be up-to-date on their vaccinations.—Riley Moser, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026 The Wisconsin Humane Society worried the changes, which include mandating certain procedures like spaying and microchipping, could cause a burden on low-income people and people of color.—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 29 Jan. 2026 But, the panel said, no other measures would work – not relocating the coyotes, not spaying or neutering them, not even killing them.—Anita Gosch, Oc Register, 19 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spay
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French espeer to pierce, castrate, from espee sword, from Latin spatha sword — more at spade