spar

S1P3A1R1
UK/spɑː/US/spɑɹ/US[spɑɹ]US[spɑ˞]

noun

A rafter of a roof.

Similar
sparring
OriginMiddle English sparre ← Middle Dutch sparre ← Middle Low German Sparre →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

spar1

nounspar (plural spars)

plural spars

  1. A rafter of a roof.
  2. A thick pole or piece of wood.
  3. obsoleteA 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 […].

    1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
  4. nauticalAny linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff.
  5. aeronauticsA beam-like structural member that supports ribs in an aircraft wing or other airfoil.
verbspar (third-person singular simple present spars, present participle sparring, simple past and past participle sparred)

present singular third person spars · participle present sparring · participle past sparred · past sparred

  1. dialectalobsoleteTo bolt, bar.

    The church dores were sparred, Fast boltyd and barryd, Yet wyth a prety gyn I fortuned to come in, […]

    c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 64, lines 91–94
  2. transitiveTo supply or equip (a vessel) with spars.

spar2

verbspar (third-person singular simple present spars, present participle sparring, simple past and past participle sparred)

present singular third person spars · participle present sparring · participle past sparred · past sparred

  1. 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.

    2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 04 Sep 2016
  2. To strike with the feet or spurs, as cocks do.
  3. To contest in words; to wrangle.
nounspar (plural spars)

plural spars

  1. A sparring session; a preliminary fight, as in boxing or cock-fighting.
  2. Multicultural London EnglishA friend, a mate, a pal.

    KLASHNEKOFF: I take two glass then pass the spliff to my spars.

    2002, “No Escape” (track 23), in It's All Happening Now, performed by Lewis Parker (musician), Klashnekoff, and Skriblah Dan Gogh
    3 more examples

    'Ello clart! How are you doin' spar? Let's have a look at your mobile phone there, that's fuckin' posh, innit?[…]that's fuckin' safe, spar!

    2003, “Soap Bar”, in The Manifesto, performed by Goldie Looking Chain

    I don't care if you got friends in your car. Light up your whip and all of your spars.

    2009 March 17, “Next Hype” (track 3), in All-Star Pars, performed by Tempa T

    Trying to explain to my spars how it is over a spliff. Arguing, cause the media got 'em locked under their lids.

    2014 September 12, “September 12th”performed by S.Kalibre

spar3

nounspar (countable and uncountable, plural spars)

plural spars

  1. countableuncountablechemistryAny of various microcrystalline minerals, of light, translucent, or transparent appearance, which are easily cleft.
  2. countableuncountablechemistryAny crystal with readily discernible faces.

SPAR4

phrase
  1. UKabbreviationinitialismrail transportInitialism of signal passed at red.

Spar5

proper noun
  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounmaking the motions of attack and defense with the fists and arms; a part of training for a boxer

Similar
sparring
Broader
boxingpugilismfisticuffs
Also see
arguesparring

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

spar · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)par-“beam, log”
  2. Proto-Germanic*sparrô“stake, beam”
  3. Middle Low GermanSparre
  4. Middle Dutchsparre
  5. Middle Englishsparre“spar, rafter, beam”
  6. Englishspar

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.

More words from Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German

Full word history & related roots →

spar · verb, noun

  1. Old Englishsperran
  2. Middle Englishsparren“to dart out; to strike out”
  3. Englishspar

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.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

spar · noun

  1. Middle Low Germanspar
  2. Old Englishspærstān
  3. Middle Englishsparston
  4. Englishsparstonebf.
  5. Englishspar

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”).

More words from Middle Low German, Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian як прът, греда
  • як прът (jak prăt)thick pole
  • греда (greda)thick pole
  • ранго́ут (rangóut)nautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
Catalan espat
  • espatany crystal with readily discernible faces
Czech závora, ráhno
  • závorabar to fasten door
  • ráhnonautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • žerďnautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • trénovatto fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • cvičit seto fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • přít seto argue
  • dohadovat seto argue
Dutch rondhout, sparren
  • rondhoutnautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • sparrento fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
Finnish parru, telki
  • parruthick pole
  • telkibar to fasten door
  • pyöröpuunautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • siipisalkoaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • sparratato fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • sälpäany crystal with readily discernible faces
French longeron, spath
  • longeronaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • spathany crystal with readily discernible faces
German Spiere, Rundholz
  • Spierenautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • Rundholznautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • Holmaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • Flügelholmaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • Spatany crystal with readily discernible faces
Irish sparra, croscheann sciatháin
  • sparranautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • croscheann sciatháinaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • speáráilto fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • sparraany crystal with readily discernible faces
Italian allenarsi al combattimento
  • allenarsi al combattimentoto fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
Māori rākau whakapakoko, rākau whakapakoko
  • rākau whakapakokothick pole
  • rākau whakapakokonautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
Persian شاهتیر, دکل
  • شاهتیر (šāhtir)thick pole
  • دکل (dakal)nautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
Russian столб, ранго́ут
  • столб (stolb)thick pole
  • ранго́ут (rangóut)nautical: linear object used as a mast, sprit, yard, boom, pole or gaff
  • лонжеро́н крыла́ (lonžerón krylá)aeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • спарринговать (sparringovatʹ)to fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • вести тренировочный бой (trenirovočnyj)to fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
  • шпат (špat)any crystal with readily discernible faces
Spanish poste, tranca
  • postethick pole
  • trancabar to fasten door
  • largueroaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • espatoany crystal with readily discernible faces
Swedish balk, vingbalk
  • balkaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • vingbalkaeronautics: beam-like structural member
  • sparrato fight, especially as practice for martial arts or hand-to-hand combat

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with spar

areourtheirrcarstarmarfarbarguitarvaravatarcharpartarQatarMyanmarjarcigarcarrnoirharomardar
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

spa (non-rhotic)spa (non-rhotic)spa (non-rhotic)spa (non-rhotic)spa (non-rhotic)

Anagrams

parsrasparps
Cite this entry
APA

spar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spar

MLA

“spar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spar. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spar,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spar.

Source: spar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.