spruced; sprucing
: to make neater, cleaner, or more attractive
—often used with up
spruce up the house for company
: to make oneself spruce
spruce up a bit
sprucer; sprucest
somewhat old-fashioned
: neat or smart in appearance : trim
sprucely
adverb
spruceness
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
spruce·ness
plural -es
: the quality or state of being spruce
the army leaves its marks of physical spruceness—
Dixon Wecter
Dixon Wecterthe curious confusion of spruceness and squalor—W. C. Brownell
W. C. BrownellSynonyms of spruce
Relevance
Verb
Adjective
Examples of spruce in a Sentence
Verb
hurriedly sprucing up the hotel dining room before the breakfast crowd began showing up
Adjective
He looked very spruce in his new suit.
a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit
Recent Examples on the Web
Brittany Vanderbill, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2026
According to Bauhus’s research, climate change has rendered the Black Forest largely uninhabitable to spruce.
—Kendra Atleework, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2026
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
The brilliant reds and gold of the willows and poplars and the bright yellows and pale greens of frostbitten underbrush stood out against the backdrop of the mountain slopes, which were clad in the darker green of spruce and pine and topped with a fall of snow from the last few nights.
—Anton Money, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spruce
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Verb
Best Amazon Outlet Home Sales Memorial Day is the perfect time to spruce things up in and around your home.
—Brittany Vanderbill, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2026
According to Bauhus’s research, climate change has rendered the Black Forest largely uninhabitable to spruce.
—Kendra Atleework, Longreads, 12 Mar. 2026
Noun
Sitting unassumingly on a city plaza, the spruce structure encloses a windowless cylinder of silence.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
The brilliant reds and gold of the willows and poplars and the bright yellows and pale greens of frostbitten underbrush stood out against the backdrop of the mountain slopes, which were clad in the darker green of spruce and pine and topped with a fall of snow from the last few nights.
—Anton Money, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spruce
Cite this Entry
“Spruce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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 noun1
: 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
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