spree

pronunciation

How to pronounce spree in British English: UK [spri:]word uk audio image

How to pronounce spree in American English: US [spri] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    a brief indulgence of your impulses
  • Verb:
    engage withour restraint in an activity and indulge, as when shopping

Word Origin

spree (n.)
"a frolic, drinking bout," 1804, slang, earliest use in Scottish dialect works, of uncertain origin. Perhaps [Barnhart] an alteration of French esprit "lively wit" (see esprit). According to Klein, Irish spre seems to be a loan-word from Old Norse sprakr. Watkins proposes a possible origin as an alteration of Scots spreath "cattle raid," from Gaelic sprédh, spré, "cattle; wealth," from Middle Irish preit, preid, "booty," ultimately from Latin praeda "plunder, booty" (see prey (n.)). The splore is a frolic, a merry meeting. In the slang language of the inhabitants of St Giles's, in London, it is called a spree or a go. [Note in "Select Scottish Songs, Ancient and Modern," vol. II, London, 1810] In Foote's comedy "The Maid of Bath" (1794) the word appears as a Scottish dialect pronunciation of spry: " 'When I intermarried with Sir Launcelot Coldstream, I was en siek a spree lass as yoursel; and the baronet bordering upon his grand climacteric;' " etc.

Example

1. Evidence suggests the summer spending spree isn 't just a blip .
2. Fund an erotic shopping spree .
3. This great lending spree has supported ever increasing amounts of chinese fixed asset investment .
4. Chinese banks have gone on an unprecedented spree on orders from beijing .
5. The amazing thing was that no one asked any questions during our shopping spree .

more: >How to Use "spree" with Example Sentences