Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - spare

~1 adj 1 »ADDITIONAL« spare key/bulb/battery etc a key etc that you have in addition to the ones you normally use, so that it is available if another is needed 2 »AVAILABLE« not being used by anyone and available to be used  (Have you got any spare boxes?) 3 spare time time when you are not working  (What do you do in your spare time?) 4 spare change coins of little value that you do not need and can give to other people  (Do you have any spare change for the phone?) 5 be going spare 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 »THIN« literary tall and thin  (an old man with a spare wiry frame) 7 go spare BrE informal to become very angry or worried  (Dad would go spare if he knew I'd stayed out all night.) ~2 v 1 »GIVE« if you can spare something, you can give it to someone because you are not using it or do not need it  (I can't spare the time. | We're too busy to spare anyone to help you right now. | spare sb sth)  (Could you spare me -5?) 2 money/time to spare if you have time, money etc to spare, there is some left in addition to what you have used or need  (We had an hour to spare so we looked round the shops. | They got there with seconds to spare.) 3 spare sb trouble/difficulty/pain etc to prevent someone from having to experience something difficult or unpleasant  (They did what they could to spare him any pain.) 4 spare a thought for to think about another person who is in a worse situation than they are  (Spare a thought for Nick, who's doing his exams while we lie in the sun.) 5 spare no expense to spend as much money as necessary to make something really good and not worry about the cost  (Janet's parents spared no expense on her wedding.) 6 spare sb the details to not tell someone all the details about something, because it is unpleasant or boring 7 »NOT DAMAGE OR HARM« to not damage or harm someone or something even though other people or things are being damaged, killed or destroyed  (Only the children were spared.) 8 spare sb's feelings to avoid doing something that would upset someone  (We carefully avoided mentioning Cathy's break-up to spare her feelings.) 9 spare sb's blushes BrE to avoid doing something that would embarrass someone ~3 n 1 an additional thing of a particular kind that you keep so that it is available  (If the fuse has gone, the spares are kept in the garage.) 2 a spare tyre (1) 3 spares BrE new parts for vehicles or machines