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
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
Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 22 May 2025
Today’s Amazon deals are all about sprucing things up: your desktop setup, your tablet experience, and your audio at home or the beach.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 20 Feb. 2025
Sarah Bruning, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2025
Amazon dropped hundreds of early bird Christmas tree deals, with festive artificial firs and spruces starting at just $33.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spruce
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Verb
Whether your patio could use sprucing or your living room needs reinvigorating, doing home makeovers on a budget is tough.
—Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 22 May 2025
Today’s Amazon deals are all about sprucing things up: your desktop setup, your tablet experience, and your audio at home or the beach.
—Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
One day, the hotel arranged for a gentle hike along the Ship Harbor Trail that would lead us past a tranquil cove, mudflats, and a spruce forest.
—Sarah Bruning, Travel + Leisure, 24 Oct. 2025
Amazon dropped hundreds of early bird Christmas tree deals, with festive artificial firs and spruces starting at just $33.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spruce
Cite this Entry
“Spruce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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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