- spare
- [[t]spe͟ə(r)[/t]]
♦♦♦spares, sparing, spared1) ADJ: usu ADJ n You use spare to describe something that is the same as things that you are already using, but that you do not need yet and are keeping ready in case another one is needed.
If possible keep a spare pair of glasses accessible in case your main pair is broken or lost...
Don't forget to take a few spare batteries...
He could have taken a spare key...
The wagons carried spare ammunition.
N-COUNTSpare is also a noun.Give me the trunk key and I'll get the spare.
2) ADJ: usu ADJ n You use spare to describe something that is not being used by anyone, and is therefore available for someone to use.They don't have a lot of spare cash...
The spare bedroom is on the second floor...
There was hardly a spare inch of space to be found.
3) VERB: only to-inf If you have something such as time, money, or space to spare, you have some extra time, money, or space that you have not used or which you do not need.You got here with ninety seconds to spare...
It's not as if he has money to spare...
The car suddenly darted ahead, squeezing past him with only inches to spare...
Miranda has drive and energy to spare and has now taken on an even bigger challenge.
4) VERB If you spare time or another resource for a particular purpose, you make it available for that purpose.[V n] She said that she could only spare 35 minutes for our meeting...
[V n] He's a very busy man, and it's good of him to spare the time to visit...
[V n] He suggested that his country could not spare the troops for such an operation.
5) VERB: usu passive If a person or a place is spared, they are not harmed, even though other people or places have been. [LITERARY][be V-ed] We have lost everything, but thank God, our lives have been spared...
[be V-ed] Not a man was spared...
[be V-ed from n] Northern Somalia was largely spared from the famine.
6) VERB If you spare someone an unpleasant experience, you prevent them from suffering it.[V n n] I wanted to spare Frances the embarrassment of discussing this subject...
[V n n] Prisoners are spared the indignity of wearing uniforms...
[V n n] Spare me the gory details...
[V n] She's just trying to spare Shawna's feelings...
[V n from n] The policy has not spared the farming community from severe financial pressure.
7) ADJ-GRADED Someone who is described as spare is tall and not at all fat. [LITERARY]She was thin and spare, with a sharply intelligent face.
Syn:8) ADJ-GRADED Something such as a room that is spare is very plain with no unnecessary features. [LITERARY]Inside, the two small rooms were spare and neat, stripped bare of ornaments.
Syn:9) → See also sparing10) PHRASE: V inflects If you spare no effort in doing something, you do it as well as possible, without worrying about the amount of work involved. If you spare no expense in doing it, you do it as well as possible, without trying to save money.The government is determined to spare no effort in investigating this case thoroughly...
Officials say they'll spare no expense to prevent another riot.
11) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you spare a thought for an unfortunate person, you make an effort to think sympathetically about them and their bad luck.Spare a thought for the nation's shopkeepers - consumer sales slid again in May...
I do not think any of us spared a thought for the ordeal of her crew.
English dictionary. 2008.
