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spoils system the political practice, by the winning candidates or party in an election, of rewarding loyal or supportive persons with appointments to public office.
spoke1 past tense of speak.
spoke2 a rod or bar radiating from the center of a wheel and connected to the outer rim. [3 definitions]
spoken past participle of speak. [3 definitions]
spokeshave a cutting or planing tool consisting of a blade set between two handles, used to trim and smooth curved surfaces of wood.
spokesman a man who speaks for one or more other persons.
spokesperson a person who speaks for one or more others.
spokeswoman a woman who speaks for one or more other persons.
spoliation the act or practice of seizing others' goods, such as the plundering of neutral ships by the navy of a warring nation. [2 definitions]
spondee a metrical foot having two long and accented syllables.
spondylitis inflammation of one or more vertebrae.
sponge any of various aquatic animals with a porous body and a tough fibrous or calcareous skeleton formed of irregular clumps or branched masses that are attached to underwater surfaces. [10 definitions]
sponge bath a cleansing of the body with a wet sponge or cloth rather than washing in a tub or shower.
sponge cake a light spongy cake made with eggs, flour, sugar, and other ingredients, but no shortening.
sponger a person or vessel that harvests sponges. [2 definitions]
sponge rubber a light porous spongelike rubber used in rubber balls, gaskets, insulation, and the like; foam rubber.
spongiform resembling a sponge in appearance or texture.
spongy resembling a sponge in lightness, porosity, absorbency, or esp. resiliency.
sponson a structure projecting from the side of a ship or boat, esp. a gun platform, or an air chamber on the gunwale of a canoe that prevents capsizing. [2 definitions]
sponsor a person or group who assumes responsibility for someone or something. [5 definitions]
spontaneity an unforced, unplanned quality of behavior, or a willingness to behave in a way that is not thought out beforehand. [2 definitions]