spar
verb /spɑː(r)/
/spɑːr/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they spar | /spɑː(r)/ /spɑːr/ |
| he / she / it spars | /spɑːz/ /spɑːrz/ |
| past simple sparred | /spɑːd/ /spɑːrd/ |
| past participle sparred | /spɑːd/ /spɑːrd/ |
| -ing form sparring | /ˈspɑːrɪŋ/ /ˈspɑːrɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] spar (with somebody) to make the movements used in boxing, either in training or to test the speed of your opponent’s reactionTopics Sports: other sportsc2
- [intransitive] to argue with somebody, usually in a friendly way
- political sparring
- verbal sparring
- spar with somebody He liked to spar with colleagues during weekly meetings.
Word Originverb Old English sperran, spyrran ‘strike out’, of unknown origin; compare with Old Norse sperrask ‘kick out’.