Synonyms of spares

spares 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of spare

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conserves
• preserves
• scants
• skimps (on)
• nurses
• doles out
• stints (on)
• portions (out)
• pinches
• metes (out)
• shortchanges
• rations (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• showers
• rains
• pours
• heaps
• lavishes

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

• saves
• conserves
• economizes
• manages
• skimps
• scrimps
• pinches
• preserves
• husbands
• pinches pennies
• scrapes
• maintains
• cuts down
• hoards
• lays up
• cuts back
• retrenches

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wastes
• spends
• blows
• runs through
• squanders
• dissipates
• lavishes
• throws away
• fritters (away)
• misspends
• splurges

spares

2 of 2

noun

plural of spare

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• substitutes
• extras
• replacements
• backups
• reserves
• stocks
• copies
• doubles
• reproductions
• duplicates
• replicas
• clones
• dummies
• dupes
• carbon copies
• replications

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• originals
• prototypes
• archetypes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of spares

Verb

His lacerating wit spares no member of his staff—a mix of true incompetents, off-putting savants, ticking time bombs, and onetime offenders prematurely consigned to professional purgatory. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026

Companion animal euthanasia is a therapeutic intervention to mitigate suffering; when conducted properly, the process spares the subject both fear and pain. — Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026

Speaking of the oversized, the collection’s Handloom Cardigan fits the bill but spares you from imitating a balloon, courtesy of those vertical stripes (also known as the oldest optical trick in the fashion book). — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026

The timing spares the Eagles and Carter from the questions and speculation that would have unfolded when training camp opened to the media Wednesday. — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 28 July 2026

Senior dogs with arthritis or chronic pain also benefit because mobile service spares them the physical strain of travel. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026

The move spares Rodriguez a punishing cut to 145 but drops him into the sport's deepest, most wrestling-heavy division. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

The outcome spares officials the headache of changing their ballot rules just a few months before the 2026 midterm congressional elections. — Mark Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026

The taxpayers association refused, instead striking a deal with lawmakers to place an amendment on the ballot that raises the threshold for special taxes to two-thirds voter approval but spares existing taxes such as Measure ULA. — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026

Noun

The likely failure of Proposition 40 spares more than a dozen billionaires who control major sports teams. — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Some customers have reported success taking their defective phones to Apple stores for replacement, but spares may be in short supply right now. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026

The compact 65 percent layout includes just the primary letters and numbers, plus arrow keys and few spares for the delete, page up, page down, and end keys. — Brad Bourque, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026

The agreement also includes spares and sustainment support through 2032, extending beyond the initial delivery of the training systems. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026

The yacht also comes with large tank capacities, space for spares and equipment, accessible systems, and a large garage, allowing seafarers to spend more time away from the shore. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2026

Temporary spares are narrower, lighter, and made with less tread than standard tires. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2026

The contract will procure spares for F-35 fighter jets and will deploy spare packages to the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, F-35 program partners and foreign military customers. — Maven Navarro, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 July 2026

Stroll subsequently couldn’t participate in FP2 as the team did not have enough time to repair the damage and had to fly more spares out to Hungary from its UK factory. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 25 July 2026