spare
/speə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /sper/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsper/ (ame, mw) · /speər/ (bre, ipa)
spare — 形容詞
- sparepositive
- sparercomparative
- sparestsuperlative
1. available to be used because it exists in addition to what is normally needed, o
多餘；備用
額外且目前未使用的
available to be used because it exists in addition to what is normally needed, or because no one is using it at the moment.
Charlotte keeps a spare umbrella in her office for rainy days.
Charlotte 在辦公室放了一把備用雨傘，以備雨天使用。
collocation: spare umbrella / spare key / spare room
The hotel had a spare room, so the traveller booked it for one more night.
飯店還有一間多餘的房間，所以那位旅客又多訂了一晚。
Do you happen to have a spare pen I could borrow for the exam?
你剛好有多的筆可以借我考試用嗎？
Quan always carries a spare phone charger in his backpack when travelling.
Quan 旅行時總是在背包裡放一個備用手機充電器。
There are three spare chairs in the storage room we can use for the party.
儲藏室裡有三張多餘的椅子，可以用來辦派對。
- extra
more neutral and more common than 'spare' for quantities
- additional
more formal; focuses on being added rather than leftover
- surplus
formal; suggests more than is actually needed
- insufficient
formal; describes a shortage rather than an excess
2. describes periods when a person is free from work or obligations and can choose
空閒的
不工作的；有空閒的
describes periods when a person is free from work or obligations and can choose what to do.
In her spare time, Élise enjoys painting landscapes and portraits.
Élise 在空閒時喜歡畫水彩風景畫和人像畫。
fixed phrase: in [possessive] spare time
Christopher spends most of his spare time reading fantasy novels at the library.
Christopher 大部分空閒時間都在圖書館讀奇幻小說。
Layla uses her spare time on weekends to learn how to cook Thai food.
Layla 利用週末空閒時間學習如何做泰國菜。
The nurses have very little spare time because they work twelve-hour shifts.
那些護理師空閒時間很少，因為她們要上十二小時的班。
Allison filled her spare hours with volunteer work at the animal shelter.
Allison 把空閒時間都拿來在動物收容所做志工。
- busy
describes a period filled with work or activity
用法筆記
Always modifies a time-related noun (time, hours, moments, minutes). Not used alone — you would not say 'I am spare today' to mean 'I am free.'
常見錯誤
3. having a thin, lean body, often tall and with a build that looks healthy rather
瘦長的
身材高瘦
having a thin, lean body, often tall and with a build that looks healthy rather than weak.
Rin's spare figure made the jacket hang loosely on her shoulders.
Rin 瘦長的身材讓那件外套鬆垮地掛在她的肩膀上。
The spare frame of the old farmer moved gracefully across the field.
那位老農夫瘦長的身影輕盈地走過田地。
Jude had a spare build that helped him run the marathon in under four hours.
Jude 身材瘦長，這幫助他在四小時內跑完全程馬拉松。
Zola's spare arms stretched up easily to reach the books on the top shelf.
Zola 瘦長的手臂輕鬆地伸上去拿書架最上層的書。
- stocky
describes a short, solid, heavy build
用法筆記
This sense is more common in descriptive writing than in everyday conversation. 'Lean' or 'slim' are more frequent alternatives in spoken English.
4. having a simple style with very little decoration, detail, or extra elements.
簡樸的
無裝飾的；簡約的
having a simple style with very little decoration, detail, or extra elements.
The spare white walls of the gallery gave the paintings more attention.
畫廊簡樸的白色牆壁讓人們更專注於畫作本身。
Defne prefers a spare style of furniture with clean, straight lines.
Defne 偏好線條簡潔乾淨的簡樸風格傢俱。
collocation: spare style
The artist's spare drawings use only a few black lines on white paper.
那位藝術家簡樸的素描只用了幾條黑線畫在白紙上。
Nellie decorated the apartment in a spare, modern style she found online.
Nellie 用她在網上找到的簡樸現代風格來佈置公寓。
- plain
more common; can describe anything without decoration
- minimalist
modern; describes a deliberate design choice using very few elements
- austere
formal; can suggest uncomfortably severe simplicity
- ornate
describes something with a lot of decoration and detail
用法筆記
Common in descriptions of art, design, and architecture. Usually carries a positive connotation of elegant simplicity rather than bareness.
spare — 動詞
- sparepresent simple I / you / we / they
- spares3rd person singular
- sparing-ing form
- sparedpast simple
1. to choose not to injure, punish, or destroy someone or something when you have t
饒恕；不傷害
決定不傷害或毀滅
to choose not to injure, punish, or destroy someone or something when you have the power or opportunity to do so.
The king spared the prisoner's life after hearing his final request.
國王聽完囚犯最後的請求後，饒恕了他的性命。
passive possible: be spared by
During the fire, the flames spared the old oak tree in the garden.
火災中，火焰沒有波及花園裡那棵老橡樹。
The judge spared the young driver a prison sentence because it was his first offence.
法官免除了年輕駕駛的監禁刑罰，因為這是他的初犯。
The soldiers spared the village and moved on without causing any damage.
士兵們沒有破壞那座村莊，繼續前進而未造成任何損害。
The floods spared the school but destroyed several houses nearby.
洪水沒有淹到學校，但摧毀了附近幾棟房子。
- pardon
similar but only for punishment, not for destruction
- forgive
focuses on letting go of anger rather than refraining from action
- show mercy to
more descriptive; emphasises compassion
文法句型
spare + noun
spare + noun + from
用法筆記
Often used in contexts of warfare, justice, or disasters. The double-object construction (spare someone something) is very common here, e.g. 'spare him the details.'
常見錯誤
2. to keep someone from enduring a hard, painful, or embarrassing event that would
免除；省去
避免某人經歷不快
to keep someone from enduring a hard, painful, or embarrassing event that would otherwise happen.
Ritu spared her little brother the trouble of waiting in the rain.
Ritu 免去了弟弟在雨中等待的麻煩。
pattern: spare [person] the [unpleasant thing]
The teacher spared the class the long summary of the boring report.
老師沒有讓全班同學聽那份無聊報告的冗長摘要。
Christopher's quick thinking spared everyone a long delay at the airport.
Christopher 的機智反應讓大家免去了在機場的長時間延誤。
Charlotte spared her parents the worry by calling them right away.
Charlotte 馬上打電話回家，讓父母免於擔心。
The neighbours spared us the trouble of cooking by bringing dinner over.
鄰居帶了晚餐過來，省去了我們做飯的麻煩。
- subject to
means to cause someone to experience something unpleasant
文法句型
spare + someone + noun
spare + someone + gerund
用法筆記
Frequently used with 'the trouble of', 'the details of', 'the need to' or abstract nouns like 'worry', 'embarrassment', 'effort'.
常見錯誤
3. to use as much effort, money, or other resources as needed to achieve something,
不遺餘力
毫不保留地使用資源
to use as much effort, money, or other resources as needed to achieve something, without limiting yourself.
The team spared no effort in preparing the garden for the annual competition.
團隊不遺餘力地準備花園，以參加年度比賽。
fixed expression: spare no effort/expense
Sivan's parents spared no expense when planning the wedding reception.
Sivan 的父母在籌劃婚宴時不惜花費。
The hospital spared no resources to save the injured child in the emergency room.
醫院不遺餘力地搶救急診室裡受傷的孩子。
Christopher spared no effort to make sure every guest felt welcome at the party.
Christopher 不遺餘力地確保每一位客人在派對上都感到受歡迎。
- give one's all
informal; focuses on personal energy rather than money
文法句型
spare no + effort/expense/pains
用法筆記
Used almost exclusively in the fixed pattern 'spare no + noun'. The noun is typically an uncountable abstract resource (effort, expense, cost, trouble, pains).
常見錯誤
4. to put all of your energy into what you are doing, without considering your own
盡全力
不保留自身精力
to put all of your energy into what you are doing, without considering your own comfort, limits, or well-being.
Nurse Yasmin never spared herself during the long night shifts at the hospital.
護理師 Yasmin 在醫院漫長的大夜班中從不保留體力。
fixed expression: not spare oneself
The coach did not spare himself while training the team for the final match.
教練在訓練球隊準備決賽時毫不保留自己。
Antonia did not spare herself while caring for her sick mother at home.
Antonia 在家照顧生病的母親時竭盡全力。
The volunteers spared neither time nor effort when the flood hit the town.
洪水侵襲小鎮時，志工們既不惜時間也不惜力氣。
- give everything
less formal; has the same meaning of full commitment
- hold back
means to deliberately use less effort than you could
文法句型
not spare + oneself
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the negative: 'not spare oneself' or 'spare no effort on oneself'. The positive form ('spare oneself') would mean to hold back, which is rare.
常見錯誤
5. to give someone something such as time, money, food, or space, especially when y
撥出；勻出
在困難中仍給予
to give someone something such as time, money, food, or space, especially when you do not have a lot of it yourself.
Could you spare me five minutes to talk about the project proposal?
你能撥出五分鐘跟我談談企劃案嗎？
common polite request: spare + me + time
Mateo spared some money from his salary to help his cousin pay rent.
Mateo 從薪水中撥出一些錢來幫表弟付房租。
Rachel spared a seat on the bus for the elderly woman with a walking stick.
Rachel 在公車上讓了一個座位給拿拐杖的老太太。
The neighbours spared some food for the family whose kitchen had burned down.
鄰居們撥出一些食物給廚房燒掉的那戶人家。
Noa spared a moment to sign the birthday card before running out of the door.
Noa 在衝出門前還是撥空在生日卡片上簽了名。
文法句型
spare + someone + something
spare + something + for + someone
用法筆記
Common in polite requests ('Can you spare a moment?', 'Could you spare me some change?'). The object can be the thing given (direct) or the recipient (indirect) in the double-object pattern.
常見錯誤
6. to take a moment to think about a person who faces hardship, as a way of express
顧念；想到
想想某人的處境以表關心
to take a moment to think about a person who faces hardship, as a way of expressing compassion or concern.
Please spare a thought for the nurses working through the holiday weekend.
請想想那些在假期週末依然值班的護理人員。
fixed expression: spare a thought for
Rin spared a thought for her friend who was taking the difficult exam that morning.
Rin 想到了她那位當天早上要參加困難考試的朋友。
As you enjoy your dinner, spare a thought for the farmers who grew the food.
享受晚餐的同時，也請想想那些種植這些食物的農民。
Layla spared a thought for the homeless animals on the cold winter night.
Layla 在寒冷的冬夜裡想到了那些無家可歸的動物。
Sana asked everyone to spare a thought for the families who lost their homes.
Sana 請大家想想那些失去家園的人們。
- think of
more general; 'spare a thought for' implies an extra effort to remember someone in difficulty
文法句型
spare + a thought + for + noun
用法筆記
Used in the fixed expression 'spare a thought for + someone'. It is a set phrase and does not take alternative wordings like 'spare thoughts for' or 'spare some thought'.
常見錯誤
7. left after you have used what you need; still available after everything necessa
剩餘；多出
使用後還剩下
left after you have used what you need; still available after everything necessary has been dealt with.
We finished the project with two days to spare before the deadline arrived.
我們在截止日期前兩天就完成了專案。
pattern: with [amount] to spare
Jude had ten minutes to spare, so he stopped for a coffee on the way.
Jude 還有十分鐘的空檔，於是在路上停下來喝杯咖啡。
The train arrived at the station with just enough time to spare.
火車到站時時間剛好夠用。
After paying all the bills, she had very little money to spare that month.
付完所有帳單後，她那個月幾乎沒剩下什麼錢。
- short of
means not having enough
文法句型
have + noun phrase + to spare
用法筆記
This sense only works in the pattern 'have [noun phrase] to spare' or 'with [noun phrase] to spare'. The phrase always follows the noun it describes — you cannot reorder it to 'spare time' (which would be the adjective sense).
常見錯誤
spare — 名詞
- sparesingular
- sparesplural
1. an extra copy or piece of something that you keep so that you can use it when th
備用品
可替換的備用物品
an extra copy or piece of something that you keep so that you can use it when the original one is lost, broken, or worn out.
Hoa keeps a spare of her house key at her sister's apartment across town.
Hoa 在姊姊的公寓裡留了一把備用鑰匙。
collocation: keep a spare
The mechanic checked the car's spares before the long road trip began.
技師在長途旅行前檢查了車上的備用零件。
plural: spares
Quan always carries a spare for his glasses in case the frame breaks.
Quan 總是隨身帶著一副備用眼鏡，以防鏡架斷掉。
The shop at the corner sells spares for most kitchen appliances and tools.
轉角那家店有賣大多數廚房用具和工具的備用零件。
用法筆記
Often used as a countable noun. In British English, 'spare' alone can refer to any spare item, while in American English 'spare part' is more common for mechanical items.
2. a new component that replaces an old, broken, or worn-out part in a vehicle, mac
零件；備胎
車輛或機器的替換零件
a new component that replaces an old, broken, or worn-out part in a vehicle, machine, or piece of equipment.
The garage orders spare parts directly from the car manufacturer in Germany.
修車廠直接向德國的汽車製造商訂購零件。
collocation: spare parts
Charlotte bought a spare for her bike's broken chain at the local shop.
Charlotte 在附近的商店買了一個自行車斷掉鏈條的備用件。
The factory stores spare parts for all its machines in the basement room.
工廠在地下室存放所有機器的備用零件。
Yasmin could not find a spare for the old washing machine motor anywhere.
Yasmin 到處都找不到那台舊洗衣機馬達的備用零件。
- replacement part
more formal; used in technical documentation
- component
formal; any part of a machine, not necessarily a spare
用法筆記
Primarily used in the context of vehicles, machinery, and electronics. 'Spare part' is more explicit than 'spare' and preferred in technical or commercial contexts.