1. plural of spondee; metrical feet in poetry consisting of two long or stressed syllables
Usage: poetry; prosody

Examples

• The poem contained several spondees that emphasized key words.
• Students learned to identify spondees in classical verse.
• The line ‘heartbreak’ contains a spondee with two stressed syllables.
• Spondees are less common than iambs in English poetry.
• The poet used spondees to create a slow, heavy rhythm.
• Ancient Greek poetry frequently employed spondees in dactylic hexameter.