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# spruce

noun (a spruce, spruces; spruce — uncountable for the wood); adjective (spruce, sprucer, sprucest); verb (spruce up, spruces up, spruced up, sprucing up)

«spruce» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A spruce is a tall evergreen tree with short needles and hanging cones; it often grows in cold places. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#m1)
2. Spruce is the light wood of this tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#m2)
3. (adjective) Spruce means neat, clean and smart in appearance. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#m3)
4. To spruce up something or someone is to make them look neater and smarter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science lessons spruce is a conifer, a tree that keeps its needles in winter; spruces are often used as Christmas trees and for paper and guitars. In everyday life you spruce up a room or yourself before visitors. Phrases: a spruce tree, spruce forest, spruce up, looking spruce.

### Examples

- A spruce keeps its needles all winter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x1)
- The forest was full of tall spruces. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x2)
- We bought a spruce for our Christmas tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x3)
- Let's spruce up the classroom before parents' evening. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x4)
- Dad looked very spruce in his new suit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x5)
- The violin was made of spruce. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x6)
- She spruced herself up for the party. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x7)
- And ‘Quack, quack, quack.’ Drakestail is off again, singing and spruce as before. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/#x8)

### Note

The tree is countable (two spruces); the wood is uncountable. Spruce and pine and fir are all conifers: spruce needles are short and sharp and grow singly; pine needles grow in bunches. The adjective is a bit old-fashioned; «spruce up» is very common.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «spruce» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spruce/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«spruce» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/spruce.html) on Mova free.