►
WORK HARD fj
Xjf-
5 [VN] not ~ yourself to work as hard as
possible XiS^A
IT»T?n spare sb’s blushes (Br£) to save sb from an embarrassing
situation X it ^ A )*t ig; ^ A A ffi X
spare sb’s feelings to be careful not to do
or say anything that might upset sb M&Mli
^AMS&h
to
'spare if
you have time, money, etc. to spare, you have more
than you need I’ve
got absolutely no money
to spare this month. “
<, 0 We arrived at the airport
with five
minutes to spare.
■
noun 1 an extra thing that you keep in case
you need to replace the one you usually use (used especially about a tyre of a
car) ; i§- '$&/}&: to get the
spare out of the boot/trunk
0
7’ve lost
my key and I haven’t got a spare, f£fE#]Jlk A 7 , 2 spares [pi.] (especially BrE)
= spare parts : It can be difficult to
get spares for some older makes of car.
spare 'part noun [usually pi ] a new part that you buy
to replace an old or broken part of a car, machine, etc. #
fir i St ft; ^ft
.spare 'rib noun a rib of pork (= meat from a pig) with
most of the meat cut off : barbecued spare ribs
mm
.spare 'tyre (BrE) (NAmE .spare 'tire) noun 1 an extra wheel for a car
llrif $£|n 2 (humorous) a large roll of fat
around sb’s waist HEJftMISc
sparing /'speerirj; NAmE 'sper-/ adj. ~ (with sth) careful to use or give
only a little of sth tgg]; M; ffta M: Doctors now advise
only sparing use of such creams.
VL, o He was
always
sparing with his praise, it At X & H ft M ig 0 ► sparingly adv.: Use the cream
very sparingly.
spark /spa:k; NAmE spairk/ noun, verb
m noun 1 [C] a very small burning
piece of material that is produced by sth that is burning or by hitting two
hard substances together A l£; AM: A shower of sparks
flew up the chimney. itHlSMAtbAffcAMo
2 [C] a small flash of
light produced by an electric current 4 A IS: sparks from a faulty light
switch A IS O A spark ignites the
fuel in a car engine.
ftJMEt A A IS & 4$ o 3 [C, usually sing.] ~ of sth a small amount of a
particular quality or feeling ( RnR
) tI, i4, —T ™ GLIMMER • a
spark of hope — 4 [U, sing.] a special quality of
energy, intelligence or
enthusiasm that makes sb very clever, amusing, etc. igA; $Vlf: Asa
writer he seemed to lack
creative spark, ft Attic, ft X-frlft^tfo 5 [C] an action or event that
causes sth important to develop, especially trouble or violence if 0; ^ A ^: the sparks of
revolution $
# M W A ^ 6 [C, usually pi.] feelings of anger or
excitement between people M& M 'if ii; :
meeting (= there was a lot of
argument). ± #• i& Wl £<J, AIHio raai see bright adi
m verb 1 [VN]
~ sth
(off) to
cause sth to start or develop, especially suddenly 31 A ; M A:: The proposal would
spark a storm of protest around the country.
0 The riots were sparked off by the arrest of a local
leader.
MM
A: Wo 0 Winds brought down power lines, sparking a fire. AM g'J ffe ik, 31 & 7 A A» 2 [V] to produce
small flashes of fire or
electricity 1 Alt; 1$ AM; ft Alt: a sparking, crackling fire ^4iP|r1 , AM1I M A 0 (figurative) The game suddenly
sparked to life, it .spark 'up sth (BrE) to begin a
conversation, an argument, a friendship, etc., often suddenly M , ^£§31$: ( #-i£, Ait
# ) : I tried to spark up a
conversation with her. 3% ft
„
sparkle /'spaikl; NAmE 'spairkl/ verb, noun
m verb [V] ~ (with sth) 1 to shine brightly with
small flashes of light Aft; Ait; sparkling eyes M A ft M
IS
If 0 Her jewellery sparkled in
the candlelight. ft ft T, o note at shine 2 to be full of
life, enthusiasm or humour $Vlt # J$C; ft 3c
He always sparkles at parties. , ft
m noun [C, U] 1 a series of
flashes of light produced by light hitting a shiny surface A ft ( ^ A ]gg ) M ft: the sparkle of glass AiiM^A o (figurative)
There was a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. ftltlMAiiflriifcAfrM^ Hr o 2 the quality of
being lively and original X Iff M; The performance lacked
sparkle.
spark ler /'spaikl8(r); NAmE 'spairk-/ noun a type of small firework that you hold in your hand and light. It bums with
many bright
sparkling wine ffo sparkling mineral
water Et AtK
3
interesting and amusing ^ ® It 4 W : a sparkling
conversation/personality MIWA
4
excellent; of very good quality & fa W ; ± ^
'spark plug (also plug) (BrE also sparking plug) noun a part in a car engine
that produces a spark (= a flash
of electricity) which makes the fuel bum and starts the engine A!£S
sparky /'spaiki; NAmE 'spairki/ adj.
(BrE, informal) full of life; interesting and amusing W; W#& W: a sparky personality Wtttf 'sparring partner noun 1 a person that you
regularly have friendly arguments or discussions with tj] $1 |b] HH 2 (in boxing i5S(l) a person that a boxer regularly practises with
spar-row /'spaerau; NAmE -rou/ noun a small brown and grey
bird, common in many parts of the world f£ spar-row-hawk /'spaerauhoik; NAmE -rou-/ noun a small bird of prey (= a bird that kills other creatures for food) of the hawk family
MM sparse /spais; NAmE spairs/ adj. (comparative sparser, no superlative) only present in small
amounts or numbers and often spread over a large area # AM; ft M M ; ^ % M : the sparse population
of the islands 2$ ® $ ± f MW An 0 Vegetation becomes
sparse higher up the mountains. A» The informa
tion available on the
subject is sparse. A H S ^ K 5. o ► sparse-ly adv.: a sparsely populated area A P #AMilfeK sparse-ness noun [U] spar-tan /'spaitn; NAmE 'spairtn/ adj. (of conditions X fg^#)
simple or severe; lacking anything that makes life easier or more pleasant M f h M; ^
M M;IMk,|l From Sparta, a powerful
city in ancient
2 [C] ~ (of sth) a sudden strong feeling
or reaction that lasts for a short time ( ~
jf, P? A: a spasm of
anxiety/anger/coughing/pain, etc. mm.
spas mod ic /spaez'mndik; NAmE -'maid-/ adj. 1 happening suddenly for
short periods of time; not regular or continuous —M; There
was spasmodic fighting in
the area yesterday. B^ A, M —2 (technical Ai§) caused by your
muscles becoming tight in a way that you cannot control ) M: spasmodic movements
jf ► spas mod ic al ly /-kli/ adv. spas-tic /'spaestik/ adj. 1 (medical IM or old-fashioned) having or caused by cerebral palsy, an illness which makes it difficult for sb
to control their muscles and movements. Using this word is now often considered
offensive.