What is the meaning of spare?

noun

  • An extra component of a machine or other apparatus.
  • An extra car wheel and tire for a four-wheel vehicle.
  • A score in tenpins; knocking down all ten after rolling two balls.

verb

  • Refrain from harming.
  • Save or relieve from an experience or action.
    • usage: "I'll spare you from having to apologize formally"
  • Give up what is not strictly needed.
    • usage: "he asked if they could spare one of their horses to speed his journey"
  • Use frugally or carefully.

adjective

  • Thin and fit.
    • usage: "the spare figure of a marathon runner"; "a body kept trim by exercise"
  • More than is needed, desired, or required.
    • usage: "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy"
  • Not taken up by scheduled activities.
    • usage: "a free hour between classes"; "spare time on my hands"
  • Kept in reserve especially for emergency use.
    • usage: "a reserve supply of food"; "a spare tire"; "spare parts"
  • Lacking in amplitude or quantity.
    • usage: "a bare livelihood"; "a scanty harvest"; "a spare diet"
  • Lacking embellishment or ornamentation.
    • usage: "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"
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APAWordNet. (2010). spare. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/spare/definitions/1184052
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "spare" http://smartdefine.org/spare/definitions/1184052 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, spare, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/spare/definitions/1184052>.
MLAWordNet. "spare" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/spare/definitions/1184052>
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