spare part
- noun
- /spɛr pɑrt/
- Specialized
- It's essential to have spare parts on hand for the maintenance of the machinery.
- spare parts and equipment
- lack of spare parts
- machinery spare parts
And I actually built this car out of just spare parts.
- And I actually built this car out of just spare parts.
- Civilian aircraft industry is in big trouble now because of the export controls on spare parts and software.
- If they can't fly, I mean, that will cripple, you know, the, the, the, the, the boycott, you know, the embargo on spare parts.
- It's part of the thing, you know, plan your budget so you have spare parts and accrue and all that stuff.
Examples
-
Hospitals are unable to acquire spare parts for incubators, kidney dialysis machines, and other equipment.
Academic text (2001) -
About two-thirds of vehicles were off the road by 1981-82 for lack of spare parts.
Academic text (1991) -
I used every spare part I could find.
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No, I fixed it with some spare parts.
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Do you have any idea how expensive spare parts are for one of these?
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Because as of today, we are no longer making spare parts.
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Is this your only strategy, and have you got any spare parts left in the factory?
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Industrial production, in particular, depends heavily on imported machinery, spare parts, and raw materials.
Academic text (1995) -
The factory keeps a stock of spare parts to ensure quick repairs on the assembly line.
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We ordered a few spare parts for the printer to replace the damaged components.
Synonyms
An extra thing you keep to use if another breaks
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an additional component kept in reserve' is directly derivable from combining 'spare' (an extra item) with 'part' (a component). This noun–noun composition follows a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The compound noun spare part comes from the simple image of keeping an extra piece: spare means extra and part means a piece of a machine, saved ready to use if the main piece breaks. So it means 'an extra part you keep to replace a broken one'.