Meaning & use
speyed
Last updated
“speyed” is a form of “spay”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitiveBritish
Past tense and past participle of 'spay': surgically removed the ovaries of a female animal so she cannot have young.
Grammar: This is the British spelling; American English usually writes 'spayed'. It is passive or past-tense in use: the cat was speyed.
Patterns
- spey an animal
- have an animal speyed
- be speyed
The vet speyed our cat last spring.
All the rescue dogs are speyed before they are rehomed.
She had her rabbit speyed to prevent unwanted litters.
Word forms
| base form | spey |
|---|---|
| third person singular | speys |
| present participle | speying |
| past tense (US spelling) | spayed |
| past participle (US spelling) | spayed |
Common combinations
- have a pet speyed
- They decided to have their pet speyed before it reached adulthood.
- speyed female
- A speyed female will not come into season.
- get a cat speyed
- It is cheaper to get a cat speyed than to raise kittens.
- speyed and neutered
- The clinic offers a speyed and neutered service for local animals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- neutered
- Used for both males and females; 'speyed' refers only to females, while 'neutered' is the general term.
- sterilized
- A broader word meaning made unable to reproduce, and it can also mean made germ-free, so it is less precise here.
Word family
Commonly confused: speyed or spayed? speyed or spied?
speyed vs spayed
This is the standard American spelling of the same word; 'speyed' is the British variant.
speyed vs spied
Sounds the same but means 'watched secretly', from the verb 'spy'.
Practice
Which sentence uses the British spelling correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Speyed' is the British past form of 'spey', so it fits a British context. 'Spayed' is correct in American English but is the US spelling, 'spied' means 'watched secretly', and the last option clashes with 'tomorrow'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speyed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.