in spades
/ɪn ˈspeɪds/
"in-spades" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“in spades” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In large quantities; to a high degree; to excess, without restraint.
Corpus desk
Index EN-in-spades · in spades · English
in spades · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | in spades |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| IPA | /ɪn ˈspeɪds/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “in spades” in English
Rare enough to double-check
in spades is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase, transcribed /ɪn ˈspeɪds/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for in spades, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the card game of bridge, in which spades is the highest suit. Perhaps influenced by phrases with similar meaning, in spadefuls or in spate. The correct English form is in spades, spelled I-N- -S-P-A-D-E-S.
Definition
- 1In large quantities; to a high degree; to excess, without restraint.
- 2Beyond doubt.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how in spades appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Last year we harvested almost no potatoes, but this year we're getting them in spades.
"He is three times that bad in spades," I said. "He ain't washed his socks in four months for one thing," […]
Etymology
From the card game of bridge, in which spades is the highest suit. Perhaps influenced by phrases with similar meaning, in spadefuls or in spate.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.