: to remove the ovaries and uterus of (a female animal)
Examples of spay in a Sentence
Our cat has been spayed.
Recent Examples on the WebNeutering and spaying feral cats is considered a humane way of dealing with the exploding population.—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2024 Gracie is spayed, Myers said, and a store employee who commutes from New Jersey brings the cat home with her once a year to see a local vet.—Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024 For instance, all dogs entering need to be registered with their vaccine information and dogs a year and older must be spayed or neutered.—Melinda Mei, Detroit Free Press, 30 July 2024 Klein recommends not spaying or neutering your dog before six months.—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spay
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French espeer to pierce, castrate, from espee sword, from Latin spatha sword — more at spade
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