Meaning & use
spayed
Last updated
“spayed” is a form of “spay”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Having had an operation to remove the reproductive organs, used especially of female animals.
Grammar: Used after a verb or before a noun: The cat is spayed. / a spayed cat. It has no comparative form.
Patterns
- be spayed
- get something spayed
- a spayed animal
All the female cats at the shelter are spayed.
We adopted a spayed dog from the rescue center.
The vet confirmed that she was spayed last year.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of 'spay': performed an operation to remove the reproductive organs of a female animal.
Grammar: The base form is 'spay'; 'spayed' is used for the past and perfect tenses: They spayed the cat yesterday. / The cat has been spayed.
Patterns
- spay an animal
- have an animal spayed
- be spayed
The clinic spayed three dogs last week.
They spayed her before she was six months old.
Has your rabbit been spayed yet?
Word forms
| base form | spay |
|---|---|
| third person singular | spays |
| past tense | spayed |
| past participle | spayed |
| -ing form | spaying |
Common combinations
- get a cat spayed
- We need to get our cat spayed soon.
- spayed female
- The spayed female is calmer than the male.
- be spayed
- She will be spayed next Monday.
- have a dog spayed
- They decided to have their dog spayed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- neutered
- Used for both male and female animals; 'spayed' is usually only for females.
- sterilized
- A more general term that can apply to humans or animals and focuses on the result of being unable to reproduce.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: spayed or spade?
spayed vs spade
A tool for digging, or a suit in cards. 'Spayed' is about an animal operation.
Practice
The animal shelter recommends that you ___ your female cat before she is six months old.
Choose one answer.
After 'you' in a recommendation like this, we use the base form 'spay'. 'Spayed' is the past tense, so it would not fit after 'you' here. 'Spaying' would need a helping verb, and 'spays' is third person singular.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spayed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.