spruce
To arrange neatly; tidy upTo arrange neatly; tidy up.
» Tom told me he often drinks root beer, but he'd not only never drunk spruce beer, he'd never even heard of it.
Meaning
3 senses(usually, with up)To arrange neatly; tidy up.
(ambitransitive, usually, with up)To make oneself spruce (neat and elegant in appearance).
make neat, smart, or trim
To tease.
Examples
26 sentencesTom told me he often drinks root beer, but he'd not only never drunk spruce beer, he'd never even heard of it.
"What kind of wood is that?" "It's spruce."
ru"Что это за древесина?" - "Это ёлка". — marafon
de„Was ist denn das für ein Holz?“ – „Das ist Fichte.“ — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Do you like spruce beer?
Тобі подобається ялинкове пиво? — deniko
deMagst du Fichtenbier? — lechlukasz
Some spruces are bark-beetle infested.
deManche Fichten haben Borkenkäfer. — Yorwba
Claudio didn't carry the spruce tree alone.
Origin
From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, fromFrom Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.
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Forms
spruces, sprucing, spruced, sprucedSynonyms
8 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle