spruce

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to spruce: spruce up

spruce¹

(spro͞os)

a. Any of various coniferous evergreen trees of the genus Picea, having flattened or four-angled needlelike leaves, a conic shape, pendulous cones, and soft wood often used for paper pulp.

b. Any of various similar or related trees.

c. The wood of any of these trees.

2. A grayish green to dark greenish black.

[Short for obsolete Spruce fir, Prussian fir, from Middle English Spruce, Prussia, alteration of Pruce from Anglo-Norman Pruz, from Medieval Latin Prussia.]

spruce²

(spro͞os)

adj. spruc·er, spruc·est

Neat, trim, and smart in appearance: "a good-looking man; spruce and dapper, and very tidy" (Anthony Trollope).

v. spruced, spruc·ing, spruc·es

v.tr.

To make neat and trim: spruced up the chairs with new slipcovers.

v.intr.

To make oneself neat and smart in appearance: He was sprucing for the school dance.

[Perhaps from obsolete spruce leather, Prussian leather, from Middle English Spruce, Prussia; see spruce¹.]

spruce′ly adv.

spruce′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spruce

(spruːs)

1. (Plants) any coniferous tree of the N temperate genus Picea, cultivated for timber and for ornament: family Pinaceae. They grow in a pyramidal shape and have needle-like leaves and light-coloured wood. See also Norway spruce, blue spruce, white spruce, black spruce

2. (Forestry) the wood of any of these trees

[C17: short for Spruce fir, from C14 Spruce Prussia, changed from Pruce, via Old French from Latin Prussia]

spruce

(spruːs)

adj

neat, smart, and trim

[C16: perhaps from Spruce leather a fashionable leather imported from Prussia; see spruce¹]

ˈsprucely adv

ˈspruceness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spruce¹

(sprus)

n.

1. any evergreen, coniferous tree of the genus Picea, of the pine family, having short angular needle-shaped leaves attached singly around twigs.

2. any of various allied trees, as the Douglas fir.

3. the wood of any such tree.

[1350–1400; variant of Pruce < Old French Pruce < Medieval Latin Prussia Prussia]

spruce²

(sprus)

adj. spruc•er, spruc•est, adj.

1. trim in dress or appearance; neat.

v.t.

2. to make spruce (often fol. by up).

v.i.

3. to make oneself spruce (usu. fol. by up).

[1580–90; perhaps <spruce leather, i.e., leather imported from Prussia (see spruce¹)]

spruce′ly, adv.

spruce′ness, n.

spruc′y, adj. spruc•i•er, spruc•i•est.

spruce

(spro͞os)

Any of various evergreen trees or shrubs that have short, four-sided needles and hanging or drooping cones. Spruces are found chiefly in cooler temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pine, fir, spruce - Pine, fir, and spruce are quite different from each other, though they are all conifers; pine has clusters of long, needle-shaped leaves, spruce is a type of fir, and the only scientific difference between the two is that spruces have rectangular needles while firs have flat, needle-shaped leaves.

See also related terms for pine.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	spruce - light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used especially for timbers and millwork spruce - any coniferous tree of the genus Picea wood - the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
	2.	spruce - any coniferous tree of the genus Picea genus Picea, Picea - a genus of temperate and Arctic evergreen trees (see spruce) spruce - light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used especially for timbers and millwork Norway spruce, Picea abies - tall pyramidal spruce native to northern Europe having dark green foliage on spreading branches with pendulous branchlets and long pendulous cones Brewer's spruce, Picea breweriana, weeping spruce - medium-sized spruce of California and Oregon having pendulous branches Engelmann spruce, Engelmann's spruce, Picea engelmannii - tall spruce of Rocky Mountains and British Columbia with blue-green needles and acutely conic crown; wood used for rough lumber and boxes Picea glauca, white spruce - medium-sized spruce of northeastern North America having short blue-green leaves and slender cones black spruce, Picea mariana, spruce pine - small spruce of boggy areas of northeastern North America having spreading branches with dense foliage; inferior wood Picea obovata, Siberian spruce - tall spruce of northern Europe and Asia; resembles Norway spruce Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce - a large spruce that grows only along the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada; has sharp stiff needles and thin bark; the wood has a high ratio of strength to weight oriental spruce, Picea orientalis - evergreen tree of the Caucasus and Asia Minor used as an ornamental having pendulous branchlets Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, silver spruce - tall spruce with blue-green needles and dense conic crown; older trees become columnar with lower branches sweeping downward eastern spruce, Picea rubens, red spruce, yellow spruce - medium-sized spruce of eastern North America; chief lumber spruce of the area; source of pulpwood conifer, coniferous tree - any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones
Verb	1.	spruce - make neat, smart, or trim; "Spruce up your house for Spring"; "titivate the child" slick up, smarten up, spiff up, spruce up, titivate, tittivate beautify, fancify, prettify, embellish - make more beautiful
	2.	spruce - dress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion; "He spruced up for the party" slick up, smarten up, spruce up neaten, groom - care for one's external appearance; "He is always well-groomed"
Adj.	1.	spruce - marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners; "a dapper young man"; "a jaunty red hat" jaunty, natty, raffish, rakish, dapper, spiffy, dashing, snappy fashionable, stylish - being or in accordance with current social fashions; "fashionable clothing"; "the fashionable side of town"; "a fashionable cafe"

spruce

adjective smart, trim, neat, elegant, dainty, dapper, natty (informal), well-groomed, well turned out, trig (archaic or dialect), as if you had just stepped out of a bandbox, soigné or soignée Chris was looking spruce in his black shirt.
messy, untidy, dishevelled, rumpled, bedraggled, unkempt, uncombed, frowsy, disarrayed

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

spruce

adjective

In good order or clean condition:

neat, orderly, shipshape, snug, spick-and-span, taut, tidy, trig, trim, well-groomed.

Chiefly British: tight.

Idiom: neat as a pin.

verb

1. To improve in appearance, especially by refurbishing.Also used with up:

fix up, smarten (up).

2. To make or keep (an area) clean and orderly.Also used with up:

clean (up), clear (up), neaten (up), police, straighten (up), tidy (up).

3. To make neat and trim; make presentable.Also used with up:

clean (up), freshen (up), groom, neaten (up), slick up, tidy (up), trig (out), trim.

Translations

أنيق ومُرَتَّبتَنّوب: شَجَرَة من الصُّنوبَرِيّات

smrkelegantní

fiksgrantræ

Fichte Kiefer adrett

abeto

kuusk

kuusityylikäs

épicéa épinette pimpant

smreka

snyrtilegur, fínn

abete elegante farsi bello

egleuzposies

molid

smrek

smreka

köknarşık ve zarif

云杉整洁漂亮的

spruce

¹ [spruːs] N (Bot) → pícea f

spruce

² [spruːs] ADJ (= neat) → pulcro

spruce up VT + ADV → arreglar
to spruce o.s. up → arreglarse
all spruced up → muy acicalado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spruce

[ˈspruːs]

(= tree) → épicéa m

(= wood) → épicéa m

adj (= smart) [person] → pimpant(e)

spruce up

vt sep (= smarten up) [+ room, building] → donner un coup de neuf à
to spruce o.s. up → se faire beau(belle)

spruce

n (also spruce fir) → Fichte f

spruce

adj (+er) person → proper, gepflegt; men’s clothes → flott, schmuck (dated); women, children, women’s clothes, appearance → adrett; building → schmuck; lawn, flower beds → gepflegt; he was looking very spruce → er sah geschniegelt und gebügelt aus

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spruce

¹ [spruːs] n (Bot) → abete m
Norway spruce → abete norvegese or rosso

spruce

² [spruːs] adj (outfit) → elegante; (lawn) → curato/a; (person) → azzimato/a

spruce up vt + adv (tidy) → mettere in ordine; (smarten up, room) → abbellire
to spruce o.s. up → farsi bello/a
all spruced up → tutto/a azzimato/a or agghindato/a

spruce¹

(spruːs) adjective

neat and smart. You're looking very spruce today.

spruce²

(spruːs) noun

a tree with leaves like needles that grows in northern regions.

spruce up

to make oneself or somebody else smarter. I'll go and spruce up before going out.

References in classic literature ?

Nor did the sap move in the hearts of the spruce trees that forested the river banks on either hand.

View in context

Not for Dan the bother of filling his basket with the loose sprays, mingled with feathery elephant's-ears and trails of creeping spruce, as the rest of us, following the Story Girl's example, did.

View in context

"Up the little canyon, to the left of it, there on the farthest knoll, right under that spruce that's leaning over."

View in context

Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway.

View in context

Down in the valley the path came out to the main road and then it was just up the spruce hill to the school.

View in context

The distant spruce groves were burnished bronze, and their long shadows barred the upland meadows.

View in context

Under the branches of an enormous spruce lay the dead body of a man.

View in context

Some ragged little boys from the depot sold pop and iced lemonade under a white umbrella at the corner, and made faces at the spruce youngsters who came to dance.

View in context

Also, with tea made from spruce needles, with concoctions brewed from the inner willow bark, and with sour and bitter roots and bulbs from the ground, they dosed his scurvy out of him, so that he ceased limping and began to lay on flesh over his bony framework.

View in context

For, instead of a long train with royal diadems, I saw in one family two fiddlers, three spruce courtiers, and an Italian prelate.

View in context

The whole coast is described as remarkably rugged and mountainous; with dense forests of hemlock, spruce, white and red cedar, cotton-wood, white oak, white and swamp ash, willow, and a few walnut.

View in context

When last I saw him he was spruce enough, but he looked ill at ease: now, untidy and ill-kempt, he looked perfectly at home.

spruce

spruce 1

spruce 2

spruce

spruce

spruce1

spruce2

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce

spruce1

spruce2

spruce¹

spruce²

spruce¹

spruce²

spruce¹

spruce²