1
as in conserves
to use or give out in stingy amounts
I'll have a banana split—and don't spare the whipped cream
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in saves
to avoid unnecessary waste or expense
she had grown up during the Great Depression, so she was no stranger to sparing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in substitutes
an interchangeable part or piece of equipment that is kept on hand for replacement of an original
we promptly replaced the burnt-out lightbulb with a spare
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spares
Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
Washington arrives in Tulsa with orders to kill Manfredi, but instead spares his life.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
That, in turn, spares those jurisdictions from going through the more cumbersome process of auctioning off the vehicles, backers of the bill said.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
Hammer spares no hard truths and offers no pat feelings with regard to how these people are bound to end up and what dementia ultimately does to them.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
Its small population of 280,000, however, spares it from being a prime target for large-scale drug trafficking.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
The film spares nothing in showing the cruelty he and others, including Lupita Nyong'o's Patsey, endured.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
The new hospital opening at 1000 Fivepoint spares patients in this region a commute to Duarte, the site of City of Hope’s founding campus.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
Pardoning a turkey is a ceremonial gesture whereby the president spares select turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving meals.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 3 Mar. 2026
That means having standard spares available and maintenance procedures drawn up and tested.
—New Atlas, 17 Jan. 2026
Precision is necessary to pick up spares.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
The deal valued at approximately $450 million including spares, support, logistics, and training.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 23 Nov. 2025
Keeping a physical key, and a few spares, handy is always a good idea.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
Probably requires at least splash resistant hands (or a whole bunch of spares).
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Nov. 2025
Furthermore, all items containing lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries, along with spares or uninstalled batteries, belong in carry-on baggage, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
—Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 Sep. 2025
Something around the house is always in need of new batteries, and the junk drawer can be a good place to keep the spares.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
The quiet zone designation, which went into effect Thursday, spares residents from hearing train horns ahead of each crossing between Douglas Street in Hammond and Fisher Street in Munster.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
Washington arrives in Tulsa with orders to kill Manfredi, but instead spares his life.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
That, in turn, spares those jurisdictions from going through the more cumbersome process of auctioning off the vehicles, backers of the bill said.
—David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
Hammer spares no hard truths and offers no pat feelings with regard to how these people are bound to end up and what dementia ultimately does to them.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
Its small population of 280,000, however, spares it from being a prime target for large-scale drug trafficking.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
The film spares nothing in showing the cruelty he and others, including Lupita Nyong'o's Patsey, endured.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
The new hospital opening at 1000 Fivepoint spares patients in this region a commute to Duarte, the site of City of Hope’s founding campus.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
Pardoning a turkey is a ceremonial gesture whereby the president spares select turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving meals.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
Noun
Palmeri’s dad, Tony, loved cars from the 1930s, and dual spares weren’t unusual to see on the sides of cars in that era.
—Eric D. Lawrence, Freep.com, 3 Mar. 2026
That means having standard spares available and maintenance procedures drawn up and tested.
—New Atlas, 17 Jan. 2026
Precision is necessary to pick up spares.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025
The deal valued at approximately $450 million including spares, support, logistics, and training.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 23 Nov. 2025
Keeping a physical key, and a few spares, handy is always a good idea.
—Cody Godwin, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
Probably requires at least splash resistant hands (or a whole bunch of spares).
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Nov. 2025
Furthermore, all items containing lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries, along with spares or uninstalled batteries, belong in carry-on baggage, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
—Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 Sep. 2025
Something around the house is always in need of new batteries, and the junk drawer can be a good place to keep the spares.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spares
Verb
-
As the body conserves heat, circulation may be redirected toward vital organs, reducing blood flow to joints in the extremities.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Adding a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch around fruit tree bases insulates the soil, conserves moisture, and reduces weeds.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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How to Make Crab Rangoon Garlic Bread The dish itself is actually pretty simple to make and saves you a lot of labor when compared to recreating a traditional crab rangoon at home.—
Joseph Erbentraut,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Staying near your meeting location, conference venue, or in the city center saves time and eliminates the need for lengthy rideshares or rental cars.—
Abby Price,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The restrictions spurred Chinese chipmakers and tech giants to double down on local manufacturing investments, with companies like Huawei developing AI processors as partial substitutes for Nvidia’s top-end chips.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Material World is a weekly roundup of innovations and ideas within the materials sector, covering what’s changing in how fashion is made, scaled or engineered from emerging biomaterials and alternative leathers to sustainable substitutes and future-proof fibers.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This preserves the memory without requiring physical storage.—
Julianna Chen,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
This preserves evidence, leaving open the possibility to identify operators, intent and origin.—
Jan Wagner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Read on to discover the highlights, the extras, and the one that stole my heart.—
Alexandra Ditch,
Vogue,
8 Mar. 2026
-
If needed, thin them out by snipping extras at the soil line with scissors.—
Holly McNamara,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But history lacks good examples of air campaigns that have easily toppled regimes and led to replacements that the attackers preferred.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
-
In this scenario, the CJNG would fracture into smaller, warring factions, producing more obscene levels of bloodshed as potential replacements try to prove their mettle.—
Daniel DePetris,
Mercury News,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In a nice touch, all reseller plans use NVMe storage, LiteSpeed web servers, 30-day backups, free SSL certificates for all clients, malware scanning and removal, and firewalls for enhanced security.—
Gabriel Zamora,
PC Magazine,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Derick Hall and Boye Mafe were their backups.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday played down growing worry about the economic impact on oil shipments from the Middle East, saying Japan has oil reserves at home that can last for several months.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
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Saudi Arabia has increased crude loadings in recent weeks, and strategic petroleum reserves held by major consuming nations like China, could provide some temporary cushioning to the market, Rystad Energy said in a note Sunday.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
3 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spares. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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