barely spare

Frequency: 6.02.5 per million words

Used to say that someone can only just manage to give a very small amount of something, like time or attention.

spareADVERB + spare

Categories:

barely

Examples (10)

  • She barely spared him a second glance.
  • I can barely spare a moment to talk right now.
  • He was so busy, he could barely spare any attention for his family.
  • They barely spared enough money to buy food after paying rent.
  • With her tight schedule, she barely spares time for hobbies.
  • The company, facing bankruptcy, could barely spare resources for R&D.
  • Even during his busiest period, he always tried to barely spare a kind word for everyone.
  • We barely spared a thought for the consequences until it was too late.
  • She barely spares a smile these days, burdened by her responsibilities.
  • Despite the overwhelming workload, she barely spared a complaint.