noun
- The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
- Parsimony; frugal use.
- An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
- That which has not been used or expended.
- A spare part, especially a spare tire.
- A superfluous or second-best person, specially (in a dynastic context) in the phrase "An heir and a spare".
- The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
- The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
- A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.
adjective
- Scant; not abundant or plentiful.
- Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; not spending much money.
- Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.
- Held in reserve, to be used in an emergency.
- Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.
- Very angry; frustrated or distraught.
- Slow.
Pronunciation
About this word
Spare is a 2-meaning word in English. Medium-length words often have several interesting anagrams.
This page shows the definition of spare along with every other word you can make from its letters. Click the link above to see all anagrams and shorter words formed from the same set of letters.
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Words in word games
If you are playing a word game, knowing whether a word is valid is essential. Spare appears in our 370,000-word English dictionary, which includes most words accepted in Scrabble and Words With Friends. However, always check the official word list for the specific game you are playing, as different games use different dictionaries.
Scrabble
In Scrabble, the valid word lists are the Official Tournament and Club Word List (OTCWL/NWL) for North America and the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) for international play. Our dictionary covers most words in both lists, but some proper nouns, abbreviations, and offensive terms may differ.
Wordle
Wordle uses its own curated word list that is smaller than the full Scrabble dictionary. If Spare appears here, it may or may not be a valid Wordle answer — but it is a real English word regardless.
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