spruce1 nounspruce2 verbspruce3 adjective
sprucespruce1 /spruːs/ noun [countable, uncountable] 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINspruce1
ExamplesOrigin:
1600-1700 spruce fir ‘spruce’, from Spruce ‘Prussia’, former European country, now part of Germany (14-17 centuries)EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- A further factor complicating the story is the trend towards monoculture of timber trees such as spruce.
- A lot of what exists in these woods can not be seen from my red spruce.
- Even that blend is offset by the nearly black green of the higher, distant spruces.
- The red spruce and Fraser fir began to recolonize the cut-over areas.
- There were shapes of spruces rising to constrict a sky full of great cold stars.
- They'd passed beyond the deciduous woods, and the trees on either side were conifers - larch, spruce and pine.
WORD SETS► Forestry
Collocationsafforestation, noundeforestation, nounfir, nounfirebreak, nounforested, adjectiveforester, noungrove, noungum, nounhardwood, nounjungle, nounlog, verblogger, nounlogging, nounlogjam, nounlumber, verblumber, nounlumberjack, nounlumberman, nounlumbermill, nounlumberyard, nounpine, nounplantation, nounreforestation, nounsapling, nounspruce, nounwoodcutter, nounwoodsman, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► red
a tree that grows in northern countries and has short leaves shaped like needles· A lot of what exists in these woods can not be seen from my red spruce.· My lookout tree is a red spruce.· The red spruce and Fraser fir began to recolonize the cut-over areas.· Whatever way they sliced the statistics, the mortality of the red spruce was dramatic and frightening.· Hub Vogelmann can tell you two stories about the future of red spruce.· The small russet cones of red spruce are borne only near the tip of the crown.· The red spruces and balsam firs that dominated the vegetation near the mountaintop thrived under high rainfall and cool temperatures.· I can do experiments in the greenhouse that show that red spruce are harmed by ozone and acid deposition.
spruce1 nounspruce2 verbspruce3 adjective
sprucespruce2 verb Word OriginWORD ORIGINspruce2
Verb TableOrigin:
[1500-1600 From ➔ SPRUCE3VERB TABLE
spruce
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | spruce |
| he, she, it | spruces | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | spruced |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have spruced |
| he, she, it | has spruced | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had spruced |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will spruce |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have spruced |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am sprucing |
| he, she, it | is sprucing | |
| you, we, they | are sprucing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was sprucing |
| you, we, they | were sprucing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been sprucing |
| he, she, it | has been sprucing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been sprucing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be sprucing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been sprucing |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Thesaurus- Clean, well-maintained, the downtown spruced up with trees and brick sidewalks and crosswalks.
- He needed his wife's presence to spruce him up and to take both him and the cottage in hand.
- Interiors are sprucing up in green, as well.
- It also makes specialty parts and accessories, which can be used to spruce up the performance and appearance of existing automobiles.
- Leaning over the parapet to watch the young bloods in the river sprucing up their horses for the fair.
- She'd come creeping back again, complaining about Dad's crumpled collars and his scuffed shoes, sprucing him up.
- Towns along the route are sprucing up their downtowns.
Longman Language Activatorto wash your hands/face/body etc► wash
Collocations to clean yourself with soap and water: · Harry went upstairs to wash.wash your hands/face/hair etc: · She was washing her hair when the phone rang.· Have you boys washed your hands yet?
► have a wash British /wash up American to wash your hands and face: · You'll feel better once you've had a wash and something to eat.· You kids go wash up now - dinner's nearly ready.
► freshen up especially spoken to wash your face and hands so that you feel more comfortable, for example when you have been working hard or travelling: · The bathroom's on the right if you'd like to freshen up.· She hoped there would be time to freshen up before the interview.
► get cleaned up to wash yourself after you have got dirty doing something: · I'll make the dinner - just give me chance to get cleaned up first.· He's upstairs in the bathroom getting cleaned up.
► spruce yourself up/get spruced up to get washed and make yourself look tidy or change your clothes: · She went into the washroom at the airport to get spruced up before meeting the others.
► brush your teeth also clean your teeth British to clean your teeth with a small brush: · Have you brushed your teeth this morning?· I cleaned my teeth, flattened down my hair, and rushed out of the door.
► wipe to clean your hands or face by gently rubbing them with a cloth or with your hand: · Wipe your face. There's chocolate all around your mouth.· Wiping his oily hands on a piece of cloth, he reached into his pocket and handed me the bill.
► cleanse to clean your skin, especially using a special liquid cream: · This lotion cleanses your skin deep down, while preserving its natural pH balance.
► shampoo to wash your hair with shampoo (=a special liquid soap for washing hair): · It's a new conditioner. Simply shampoo your hair, towel dry, and spray it in.
to make yourself look well-dressed and tidy► smarten yourself up British if you smarten yourself up , you make yourself look smart by changing your clothes, arranging your hair etc: · She's smartening herself up in the ladies' room.· Jeremy, go smarten yourself up before dinner.smarten up: · Smarten up! It's time for inspection.
► spruce (yourself) up/get spruced up to wash, tidy your hair, put on good clothes etc before doing something or going somewhere: · On Saturdays we got spruced up and headed off into town.· He spent a few minutes sprucing up in front of the mirror and he was ready to go.· I think I'll go and spruce myself up before dinner.
► make yourself presentable to wash, put on nice enough clothes, and tidy your hair so that you can meet people: · Give me a few more minutes to make myself presentable and I'll be with you.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► up
spruce up phrasal verb informal to make yourself or something look neater and tidier: · Leaning over the parapet to watch the young bloods in the river sprucing up their horses for the fair.· Towns along the route are sprucing up their downtowns.· There will also be a £1billion drive to spruce up deprived inner-city areas.· Interiors are sprucing up in green, as well.· The borough council has earmarked more than £80,000 to spruce up properties on Newport Road, opposite the bus station.· Clean, well-maintained, the downtown spruced up with trees and brick sidewalks and crosswalks.· It also makes specialty parts and accessories, which can be used to spruce up the performance and appearance of existing automobiles.
Paul went upstairs to spruce up before dinner.spruce somebody/something ↔ up The cottage had been spruced up a bit since her last visit.spruce1 nounspruce2 verbspruce3 adjective
sprucespruce3 adjective British English Word OriginWORD ORIGINspruce3
ExamplesOrigin:
1500-1600 Perhaps from Spruce leather ‘leather brought from Prussia’ (15-18 centuries); ➔ SPRUCE1EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Collocations- Groves of old-growth lodge-pole pine and aging spruce fir exploded into flame like toothpicks be-fore a blowtorch.
- He skirted the spruce plantation and supposed that at some point he should tell Sara about it.
- It was surrounded by spruce trees and bougainvillaea, with a high bank leading up to the front door.
- The spruce branch fell to the floor and the ivy wound itself around her neck like some pagan wreath.
- The fuselage was of welded steel tube, faired to an oval section, with spruce formers, and fabric covered.
- The remote Sylvan Lake Lodge overlooks a striking man-made lake and spruce forest.
- These and other shrubs were interspersed with small, scraggly larch and black spruce trees.
- When the evening comes the female spruce budworm moth rises up on warm air currents.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► tree
neat and clean: · It was surrounded by spruce trees and bougainvillaea, with a high bank leading up to the front door.· These and other shrubs were interspersed with small, scraggly larch and black spruce trees.· Gradually I descended the spruce tree and slowly crept toward the feeding birds.· All of it flowed to a field of satellite dishes surrounded by spruce trees a few hundred yards from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.· When the great spruce tree burns, its cones explode, and the seeds of a new forest are planted.
Mr Bailey was looking very spruce in a white linen suit.—sprucely adverb