spare
part of speech
adjective (spare); verb (spare, spares, spared, sparing); noun (a spare, spares)
meaning for a pupil
1) Spare means extra, kept in case it is needed, not being used now: a spare key, a spare tyre. tree →
2) Spare time is free time when you are not working. tree →
3) To spare is to give something you do not need: «can you spare a pencil?». tree →
4) To spare someone is to not hurt them, or to save them from something. tree →
5) «To spare» means left over: «we got there with ten minutes to spare». tree →
6) Spare no expense means to spend as much money as is needed, without holding back. tree →
sense in the lessons
extra things beyond those needed; the left over; in everyday life: spare clothes in your bag, a spare key with a neighbour, spare batteries; in stories: the king spared the dragon's life; phrases: «spare time», «to spare», «spare room», «spare no effort»
examples
- He has 2 spare tyres. tree →
- Each child needs 1 pencil and 5 are spare. tree →
- Can you spare 3 apples? tree →
- How many spare seats are there? tree →
- Pack a spare pair of socks for the camp. tree →
- What do you do in your spare time? tree →
- We reached the station with five minutes to spare. tree →
- The knight spared the dragon's life. tree →
- Our neighbour keeps a spare key for us. tree →
- We don't want any expense spared. tree →
note
Spare = what is left over after use: total − used. «With 5 minutes to spare» means 5 minutes left before the time. «Spare» as a verb with «can you…» is a polite way to ask for something.
In the corpora
- Live shows often have small disasters, so teams keep safety pins, tape and spare costumes ready.
- Agoutis open hard Brazil nut pods and bury spare seeds, and the forgotten seeds grow into new Brazil nut trees.
- A "white lie" is a harmless lie told to spare someone's feelings.
- A white lie is a small kind lie to spare feelings, such as praising a present you do not like.
- Burglars check under doormats, so the hiding place of a spare key is kept secret.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «spare» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.