spade
1a tool for digging, having an iron blade adapted for pressing into the ground with the foot and a long handle commonly with a grip or crosspiece at the top, and with the blade usually narrower and flatter than that of a shovel.
some implement, piece, or part resembling this.
a sharp projection on the bottom of a gun trail, designed to dig into the earth to restrict backward movement of the carriage during recoil.
to dig, cut, or remove with a spade (sometimes followed by up): Let's spade up the garden and plant some flowers.
Idioms about spade
call a spade a spade, to call something by its real name; be candidly explicit; speak plainly or bluntly: To call a spade a spade, he's a crook.
in spades, Informal.
in the extreme; positively: He's a hypocrite, in spades.
without restraint; outspokenly: I told him what I thought, in spades.
Origin of spade
1Other words from spade
- spadelike, adjective
- spader, noun
- un·spad·ed, adjective
Words that may be confused with spade
- spade , spay
Other definitions for spade (2 of 2)
a black figure shaped like an inverted heart and with a short stem at the cusp opposite the point, used on playing cards.
a card of the suit bearing such figures.
spades,
(used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Spades is trump.Spades count double.
(used with a plural verb)Casino. the winning of seven spades or more.
Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.
Origin of spade
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for spade (1 of 2)
/ (speɪd) /
a tool for digging, typically consisting of a flat rectangular steel blade attached to a long wooden handle
an object or part resembling a spade in shape
(as modifier): a spade beard
a heavy metallic projection attached to the trail of a gun carriage that embeds itself into the ground and so reduces recoil
a type of oar blade that is comparatively broad and short: Compare spoon (def. 6)
a cutting tool for stripping the blubber from a whale or skin from a carcass
call a spade a spade to speak plainly and frankly
(tr) to use a spade on
Origin of spade
1Derived forms of spade
- spader, noun
British Dictionary definitions for spade (2 of 2)
/ (speɪd) /
the black symbol on a playing card resembling a heart-shaped leaf with a stem
a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl) the suit of cards so marked, usually the highest ranking of the four
a derogatory word for Black
in spades informal in an extreme or emphatic way
Origin of spade
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with spade
see call a spade a spade; do the spadework; in spades.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse