sparring partner
10
3.9
- noun
- /ˈspɑːrɪŋ ˈpɑːrtənər/
:
compañero de sparring
- I shall miss having a sparring partner to keep me trim.
- a frequent sparring partner
- a regular sparring partner
- a former sparring partner
And then I was chief sparring partner.
- And then I was chief sparring partner.
- You need an amazing sparring partner.
- If I can't spar, those guys lose sparring partner, which means they can't compete, which their backers are going to lose middle and millions.
Examples
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Wladimir: Deontay Wilder is one of the greatest sparring partners I've ever had.
Blog text (3) -
Looks like you could have a sparring partner.
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I need a sparring partner, all right?
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Arlena and I are old sparring partners.
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He was in the golden gloves, and I was his sparring partner.
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Every old boxer in Montana and plenty from outside showed up to be sparring partners.
Fiction book (1990) -
Wladimir said that Wilder is one of the best sparring partners he has ever had.
Blog text (3) -
Another newspaper advertisement requested a sparring partner for a professional fighter training for the middleweight championship of New England.
Blog text (25) -
Deontay Wilder was a sparring partner for David Haye, Audley Harrison, and Wlad.
Blog text (4) -
During training camp, he searched for a sparring partner to improve his boxing skills.
Synonyms
A boxer who trains with another boxer to help them prepare for a fight
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person who practices boxing with another' follows directly from combining 'sparring' (practice fighting) with 'partner' (a person who cooperates or joins in an activity). This X+partner compositional pattern (e.g. training partner, dance partner) is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Sparring partner comes from boxing training: to spar means to practice light fighting, and a partner is the person who practices with you. So, a sparring partner is someone who helps you 'train' and 'get ready' for a real fight or competition.