spare

spare¹ S2 [speə US sper] adj

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1¦(extra)¦

2¦(not used/needed)¦

3¦(time)¦

4¦(money)¦

5 be going spare

6 go spare

7¦(plain)¦

8¦(thin)¦

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[: Old English; Origin: spAr]

1.) ¦(EXTRA)¦

spare key/battery/clothes etc

a key etc that you keep in addition to the one you usually use, so that it is available if the one you usually use breaks, gets lost etc

▪ a spare key

▪ Bring a towel and some spare clothes.

▪ a supply of spare batteries

▪ a spare tyre

2.) ¦(NOT USED/NEEDED)¦ [usually before noun]

not being used or not needed at the present time

▪ Have you got any spare boxes?

▪ You could sleep in the spare bedroom.

▪ Do you have any spare cash.

▪ I'll go and see if there are any spare seats.

▪ A decline in beer sales had left the industry with spare capacity (=the ability to produce more than can be sold) .

3.) ¦(TIME)¦

spare time/moment/hour etc

time when you are not working

▪ What do you do in your spare time?

▪ Eric spent every spare moment he had in the library.

4.) ¦(MONEY)¦

spare change

coins of little value that you do not need and can give to other people

▪ There are beggars on every corner asking for spare change.

5.) be going spare

BrE spoken if something is going spare, it is available for you to have or use

▪ I'll have some of that cake if it's going spare.

6.) go spare

BrE informal to become very angry or worried

▪ Dad would go spare if he found out.

7.) ¦(PLAIN)¦

a spare style of writing, painting etc is plain or basic and uses nothing unnecessary

8.) ¦(THIN)¦

literary someone who is spare is tall and thin

spare ²

spare² S3 v [T]

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1¦(give)¦

2 money/time etc to spare

3 spare somebody the trouble/difficulty/pain etc (of doing something)

4¦(not damage or harm)¦

5 spare a thought for somebody

6 spare no expense/effort

7 spare somebody (the details)

8 spare somebody's feelings

9 spare a glance

10 spare somebody's blushes

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[: Old English; Origin: sparian]

1.) ¦(GIVE)¦

to make something such as time, money, or workers available for someone, especially when this is difficult for you to do

▪ Sorry, I can't spare the time .

▪ I'd like you to come over when you can spare a couple of hours.

▪ Can you spare £5?

spare sb/sth to do sth

▪ We're too busy to spare anyone to help you right now.

spare sb ten minutes/an hour etc

▪ Could you possibly spare me a few moments in private (=used to ask someone if they have time to quickly talk to you) ?

▪ It's very kind of you to spare me so much of your time.

2.) money/time etc to spare

if you have time, money etc to spare, you have some left in addition to what you have used or need

▪ Anyone who has time to spare and would like to help can contact Moira.

with sth to spare

▪ They got to the airport with seconds to spare.

▪ They still have some money to spare.

3.) spare sb the trouble/difficulty/pain etc (of doing sth)

to prevent someone from having to experience something difficult or unpleasant

▪ I wanted to spare them the trouble of buying me a present.

▪ Thankfully she had been spared the ordeal of surgery.

4.) ¦(NOT DAMAGE OR HARM)¦

to not damage or harm someone or something, even though other people or things are being damaged, killed, or destroyed

▪ I could not understand why I had been spared and they had not.

▪ the soldier who had spared his life

spare sb/sth from sth

▪ Today we will hear whether the school is to be spared from closure.

5.) spare a thought for sb

to think about another person who is in a worse situation than you are

▪ Spare a thought for Nick, who's doing his exams right now.

6.) spare no expense/effort

to spend as much money or do everything necessary to make something really good or successful

spare no expense/effort to do sth

▪ No expense was spared in developing the necessary technology.

▪ No effort will be spared to bring the people responsible to justice.

7.) spare sb (the details)

to not tell someone all the details about something, because it is unpleasant or boring

▪ He spared us the details, saying only that he had been injured in the war.

▪ 'They own three houses. One in the country, one in...' ' Spare me .'

8.) spare sb's feelings

to avoid doing something that would upset someone

▪ Just tell me the truth. Don't worry about sparing my feelings.

9.) spare a glance

BrE written to look quickly at someone or something

spare a glance at

▪ Before leaving the old town, spare another glance at the tower.

spare sb/sth a glance

▪ a bored waitress who scarcely spared them a glance

10.) spare sb's blushes

BrE to avoid doing something that would embarrass someone

spare ³

spare³ n

1.)

an additional thing, for example a key, that you keep so that it is available

▪ If you forget the key, Mrs Jones over the road has a spare.

▪ The batteries are dead. Have you got any spares?

2.)

a ↑spare tyre

3.) spares [plural] BrE

↑spare parts

motor/car/aircraft etc spares

▪ a shortage of aircraft spares