spades

"Spades" is a word with a few distinct meanings. It can refer to a digging tool, a suit in a deck of playing cards, and it also appears in a well-known English phrase. Here are the most useful senses to know.

everyday language, gardening, construction · Modern, widely used

We grabbed our spades and started digging the hole for the new tree.

The workers left their spades by the side of the road after finishing the trench.

You'll need a couple of spades to turn over all that soil in the garden.

In a standard deck of 52 playing cards, spades is one of the four suits. The symbol looks like a black upside-down heart with a small stem at the bottom — ♠. When people say 'the spades', they mean all the cards in that suit.

card games, leisure · Modern, widely used

She had three spades in her hand, including the ace.

He played the king of spades and won the round.

card games, leisure · Modern, widely used in the US

We played spades for hours at the family reunion.

Do you know the rules of spades? It's a fun team card game.

4adverbfigurativein spades (phrase) — to a great degree

The phrase 'in spades' means 'in large amounts' or 'to a very high degree'. If someone has talent in spades, they have a lot of it. This expression comes from card games, where spades is often the strongest suit.

everyday language · Modern, widely used · figurative

She has confidence in spades — she never seems nervous about anything.

He repaid their kindness in spades by helping them move to their new house.