These nouns have different meanings and origins, although they may remind you of each other.
Spores are the reproductive organs of certain plants and fungi (e.g. mushrooms), very much like seeds—tiny grains that grow into new plants or fungi under the right conditions. In fact, spores really are simple, primitive seeds. Most spores are unicellular (made of one cell) and come from mushrooms.
Spoor refers to the traces left behind by wild animals, including tracks (the marks left in the ground by animal feet), feces, or any other evidence of a passing animal, such as broken branches. Spoor can also be used metaphorically for the traces left behind by anything “passing”:
The storm had left a spoor of blown-down fences through town.
More Examples of “Spore” in a Sentence
- Those spores are capable of creating their own clones that do whatever the original spore wanted.
- They are both caused by spore pathogens that thrive in the wet conditions.
- And they produce spore capsules that are borne aloft on thin stalks.
- This spore cloud can kill you within a few seconds if you’re not careful.
- Both simulated fungal spore and sea salt concentrations exhibited strong temporal variability.