spar
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spar¹
- /spɑː/ UK
- /spɑɹ/ US
- [spɑɹ] US
- [spɑ˞] US
Sounds like spa (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English sparre (“spar, rafter, beam”) (noun), sparren (“to close, bar”) (verb), from Middle Dutch sparre or Middle Low German Sparre, all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sparrô (“stake, beam”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)par- (“beam, log”). Compare Dutch spar (“balk”), German Sparren (“rafter, spar”), Danish sparre (“spar”), Albanian shparr, shpardh (“kind of oak”). Perhaps also compare spear.
noun spars
- A rafter of a roof.
- A thick pole or piece of wood.
- A bar of wood used to fasten a door. The Prince staid not his aunswere to devize, / But, opening streight the Sparre, forth to him came […].
- Any linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff.
- A beam-like structural member that supports ribs in an aircraft wing or other airfoil.
verb spars · sparring · sparred
- To bolt, bar. The church dores were sparred, Fast boltyd and barryd, Yet wyth a prety gyn I fortuned to come in, […]
- To supply or equip (a vessel) with spars.
spar²
- /spɑː/ UK
- /spɑɹ/ US
- [spɑɹ] US
- [spɑ˞] US
Sounds like spa (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English sparren (“to dart out; to strike out”), from Old English sperran, spirran, spyrran (“to strike, strike out at, spar”), related to Low German sparre (“a struggling, striving”), German sich sperren (“to struggle, resist, oppose”), Icelandic sperrast (“to kick out at, thrust, struggle”). The slang sense of friend is probably from the phrase sparring partner under the influence of the similar slang words par and star.
verb spars · sparring · sparred
- To fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat. After early sparring, Spurs started to take control as the interval approached and twice came close to taking the lead. Terry blocked Rafael van der Vaart's header on the line and the same player saw his cross strike the post after Adebayor was unable to apply a touch.
- To strike with the feet or spurs, as cocks do.
- To contest in words; to wrangle.
noun spars
- A sparring session; a preliminary fight, as in boxing or cock-fighting.
- A friend, a mate, a pal. KLASHNEKOFF: I take two glass then pass the spliff to my spars.
spar³
- /spɑː/ UK
- /spɑɹ/ US
- [spɑɹ] US
- [spɑ˞] US
Sounds like spa (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle Low German spar, sper (“spar”); or from a backformation of sparstone (“spar”), from Middle English sparston (“gypsum, chalk”), from Old English spærstān (“gypsum”). Related to German Sparkalk (“plaster”), Old English spæren (“of plaster, of mortar”).
noun spars
- Any of various microcrystalline minerals, of light, translucent, or transparent appearance, which are easily cleft.
- Any crystal with readily discernible faces.
SPAR⁴
phrase
- Initialism of signal passed at red
Spar⁵
proper noun
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: economical, thrifty, frugal, stinting, scotch, box, pole, shadowbox, varnish, mast, bowsprit, train, fluor, calc, argue, wrangle
Translations
Every language
noun bar to fasten door
| Español | tranca |
|---|
noun nautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
| Deutsch | Spiere, Rundholz |
|---|---|
| Русский | ранго́ут rangóut |
noun aeronautics: beam-like structural member
| Español | larguero |
|---|---|
| Français | longeron |
| Deutsch | Holm, Flügelholm |
| Русский | лонжеро́н крыла́ lonžerón krylá |
verb to fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
| Italiano | allenarsi al combattimento |
|---|---|
| Русский | спарринговать sparringovatʹ, вести тренировочный бой trenirovočnyj |
Talk about this word "spar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. spar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spar "spar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spar.Cite this
@misc{spar_2026,
title = {spar},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spar},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
