spare
Pronunciation
[change]Verb
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Plain form |
Third-person singular |
Past tense |
Past participle |
Present participle |
- (transitive) If you spare (somebody) something, you make it available even though you don't have much of it.
- Excuse, me! Can you spare a few minutes to look at this?
- Can you spare me twenty dollars till the weekend?
- Sorry, man – I can't spare anything. I need it all for gas.
- I'm afraid we're too busy to spare anyone to help you right now.
- (transitive); (infinitive only) If you have something to spare, you have something extra.
- She had five minutes to spare before he was due to pick her up.
- Sorry, no time to spare! Got to go! Bye!
- She could get it all inside with room to spare.
- (transitive) If you spare somebody something not nice, they don't have to experience it.
- The phone rang, sparing me from having to give an answer.
- "But for your information --;" she lifted a silencing, hand. "Spare me the details, will you?"
- "I'm so upset, I think I'm going to be sick." "Oh, please! Spare me!"
- (transitive) If somebody is spared, they live, even though they were expected to die.
- The accident took the life of his wife, but spared his son.
- Please, I beg you, spare him his life!
- (transitive) If you spare no expense, effort, detail, etc., you do everything you can.
- They spared no expense for their wedding.
- (transitive) If you spare a thought for somebody, you think of them, usually at a time that you are happy, but they are not.
- (transitive) If you spare somebody's feelings, you try not to do or say things that will upset them.
- She never hid the truth to spare somebody's feelings.
Synonyms
[change]Related words
[change]Adjective
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- (usually before a noun) A spare part, room, key, etc. is an extra one, one that is not being used.
- The bags were in the small backseat because the spare tire filled most of the trunk.
- I've got a spare bedroom. You can stay there.
- It took a long time to find enough spare parts to put the car back together.
- Your spare time is time when you are not working and you can relax or have fun.
- He spends most of his spare time playing guitar with his friends.
- Spare change is coins that are not worth much and that you can give away.
- I often find spare change lying on the floor.
- If something is spare, it is plain and has no decoration.
- The room was very spare, with only a window, a single chair, and a ceiling light.
- A spare person is tall and thin.