I. ˈspa(a)](ə)r, -pe], ]ə\ verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English sparen, from Old English sparian; akin to Old Frisian sparia to spare, Old High German sparōn, sparēn, Old Norse spara; derivatives from the root of English spare (II)
transitive verb
1. : to forbear to destroy, punish, or harm : preserve from punishment, injury, or evil : show mercy to
spare , O Lord, this miserable sinner
many ships were sunk but a few were spared
woodman, spare that tree — G.P.Morris
2. : to refrain from attacking, scolding, reprimanding, or speaking with necessary or salutary severity to
his sermons spared neither high nor low, rich nor poor
does not spare the U.N. and he recommends that it set its house in order — Chester Bowles
3. : to relieve (someone) of the necessity of doing or undergoing something : exempt
spare him the trouble of answering
wanted to spare his parents the expense of sending him to college
spare yourself quite a bit of … weeding — New Yorker
4. : to refrain from : avoid
nothing is spared to … make you comfortable — T.H.Fielding
5.
a. : to use stintingly or frugally : refrain from the free use or consumption of
spare the rod and spoil the child
— chiefly in negative use
more pancakes, please, and don't spare the syrup
come at once and don't spare the horses
substantial homes with no sparing of paint — R.W.Hatch
b. dialect chiefly Britain : save 2a
rob a poor man of all he had spared — Augusta Gregory
6.
a. : to give up or part with as being not strictly needed : dispense with as surplus or extra
could have better spared a better man — Shakespeare
giving employment … to villagers who can be spared from the farms — Geographical School Bulletin
b. : to have left over or as margin
caught the train with a few minutes to spare
that rug will cover the floor with a foot to spare
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : desist , stop
2. : to be frugal : live in a saving and stinting manner
some will spend and some will spare — Robert Burns
3. : to refrain from executing judgment or punishment or taking vengeance : use mercy or kindness : be lenient
•
- and to spare
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English spær; akin to Old High German spar spare, Old Norse sparr spare, Old Slavic sporŭ abundant, Old English spēd success, speed — more at speed
1. : not being used : held for future or emergency use
spare bedroom
spare tire
spare anchor
2. : being over and above what is necessary : not wanted : not presently needed : free , superfluous
a hobby to occupy his spare time
have you any spare cash you could lend me
3. : not liberal or profuse : sparing , chary
habitually spare of speech
build up the truth of his characters through spare , pungent dialogue — Arthur Knight
tale proceeds with a spare and lucid simplicity — Times Literary Supplement
4. : lacking fat : somewhat thin : lean
spare , alert, and jaunty figure — Thomas Wolfe
some like their beauty to be luxurious; others see beauty in the gaunt and the spare — Richard Joseph
5. : not abundant or plentiful : meager , scanty
spare diet
spare vegetation
Synonyms: see lean , meager
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from sparen, v.
1. obsolete : an act of showing restraint or mercy — used especially in the phrase without spare
2. archaic : placket
3. archaic : frugal use : economy , frugality — used with make
4.
a. : a spare tire
b. : a duplicate (as a battery, a pair of eyeglasses) kept in reserve
c. chiefly Britain : spare part
d. : an extra member of a sports team
5. : the knocking down of all 10 pins with the first 2 bowls of a frame in bowling — compare strike
6. : surplus clay trimmed off the mold in the slip-casting process