spruced; sprucing
: to make spruce
—often used with up
: to make oneself spruce
spruce up a bit
plural spruces also spruce
1
a
: any of a genus (Picea) of evergreen trees of the pine family with a conical head of dense foliage, flat or 4-sided needles, pendulous cones, and soft light wood
b
: any of several coniferous trees (such as Douglas fir) of similar habit
2
: the wood of a spruce
Synonyms
Examples of spruce in a Sentence
Verb
hurriedly sprucing up the hotel dining room before the breakfast crowd began showing up
Adjective
He looked very spruce in his new suit.
a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit
Recent Examples on the Web
Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2024
Using these picture modes should spruce things up enough for most viewers with any modern TV from brands like Sony, Samsung, Hisense, TCL, LG, and Roku.
—Ryan Waniata, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2024
Roman Dial, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2022
The interior is built from spruce wood planks and beech dowels, which means that residents can reassemble walls, dividers, counters, storage and furniture as needed to transform the space.
—CNN, 27 May 2021
The Hill Staff, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
There are just four, standalone chalets that can sleep two people each — all are set deep into the spruce forest and have interiors lined with untreated pine wood.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spruce 
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Verb
Other stars spruce it up a bit … and probably for a lot less money.
—Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2024
Using these picture modes should spruce things up enough for most viewers with any modern TV from brands like Sony, Samsung, Hisense, TCL, LG, and Roku.
—Ryan Waniata, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2024
Adjective
For the last four years, the National Science Foundation has funded a collaborative project among the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), Amherst College, and Alaska Pacific University (APU) to study how spruce forests shift northward.
—Roman Dial, Outside Online, 15 Sep. 2022
The interior is built from spruce wood planks and beech dowels, which means that residents can reassemble walls, dividers, counters, storage and furniture as needed to transform the space.
—CNN, 27 May 2021
Noun
The Architect of the Capitol, which selects the tree each year, recently shared that the spruce’s journey to D.C. spanned more than 700 miles by sea and more than 4,000 land miles by truck.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
There are just four, standalone chalets that can sleep two people each — all are set deep into the spruce forest and have interiors lined with untreated pine wood.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spruce
Dictionary Entries Near spruce
Cite this Entry
“Spruce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spruce
1 of 3 verb
spruced; sprucing
: to make or make oneself spruce
spruce up a room
spruce up a bit before going out to dinner
spruce
2 of 3 adjective
sprucer; sprucest
: neat or stylish in appearance
sprucely
adverb
spruceness
noun
spruce
3 of 3 noun1
: any of a genus of usually pyramid-shaped evergreen trees that are related to the pines and have soft light wood
2
: the wood of a spruce
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