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mainspring

[ meyn-spring ]

/ ˈmeɪnˌsprɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mainspring ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the principal spring in a mechanism, as in a watch.

the chief motive power; the impelling cause.

Origin of mainspring

First recorded in 1585–95; main¹ + spring

Words nearby mainspring

mainmast, mainour, mains, mainsail, mainsheet, mainspring, mainstay, mainstream, mainstream corporation tax, mainstreamer, mainstreaming

Example sentences from the Web for mainspring

He keeps time for a year or two, and then something happens to his mainspring and he gets the sack.

The Best Short Stories of 1917 |Various
You would fain be thought to take no share in government, while in reality you are the mainspring of the machine.

Junius Unmasked |Joel Moody
This belief was the mainspring that kept the Southern Confederacy going, as it was also the corner-stone of its constitution.

Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 2 of 8 |Various
It always remains the mainspring of intellectual life; when it ceases to be a motive power to thinking, thought is dead.

Outlines of Educational Doctrine |John Frederick Herbart

Thenzipout went Mr. Toads tongue, like you uncoiled the mainspring of a watch, and the fly was gone!

Left Half Harmon |Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for mainspring

mainspring

/ (ˈmeɪnˌsprɪŋ) /

noun

the principal power spring of a mechanism, esp in a watch or clock

the chief cause or motive of something