Spare Meaning
/spɛə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjExtra.
adjExtra., Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
Sentence Examples
We have three spare rooms, none of which can be used.
Can you spare me a few minutes of your valuable time?
But I can't spare the time just now.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The kind judge decided to ____ the young offender because of his age.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I always keep a ____ tire in the trunk of my car just in case I have a flat on the highway.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-. Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"if that no spare cloths he had to give"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 39:
"Shepard: I take it this is your first time here?
Wrex: Meant to tell you Shepard. Earth reminds me of home. Guess you'll be needing a new planet too. That's okay. Tuchanka's got room to spare and a guard dog named Kalros."
— 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth:
"As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
"Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core."
— 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:
"I’m naked to the bone,
With nakedness my shield.
Myself is what I wear:
I keep the spirit spare."
— 1941, Theodore Roethke, “Open House”, in Open House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, page 3:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The kind judge decided to ____ the young offender because of his age.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I always keep a ____ tire in the trunk of my car just in case I have a flat on the highway.