spring

[ spring ]

/ sprɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR spring ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

to rise, leap, move, or act suddenly and swiftly, as by a sudden dart or thrust forward or outward, or being suddenly released from a coiled or constrained position: to spring into the air; a tiger about to spring.

to be released from a constrained position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring: A trap springs. The door sprang open and in he walked.

to issue forth suddenly, as water, blood, sparks, fire, etc. (often followed by forth, out, or up): Blood sprang from the wound.

to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time (usually followed by up): Industries sprang up in the suburbs.

to come into being by growth, as from a seed or germ, bulb, root, etc.; grow, as plants.

to proceed or originate from a specific source or cause.

to have as one's birth or lineage; be descended, as from a person, family, stock, etc.; come from: to spring from ancient aristocracy.

to rise or extend upward, as a spire.

to take an upward course or curve from a point of support, as an arch.

to come or appear suddenly, as if at a bound: An objection sprang to mind.

to start or rise from cover, as a pheasant, woodcock, or the like.

to become bent or warped, as boards.

to shift or work loose, as parts of a mechanism, structure, etc.: The board sprang from the fence during the storm.

to explode, as a mine.

Archaic. to begin to appear, as day, light, etc.; dawn.

verb (used with object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

to cause to spring.

to cause to fly back, move, or act, as by resiliency, elastic force, a spring, etc.: to spring a lock.

to cause to shift out of place, work loose, warp, split, or crack: Moisture sprang the board from the fence.

to split or crack: The ship sprang its keel on a rock.

to develop by or as by splitting or cracking: The boat sprang a leak.

to bend by force, or force in by bending, as a resilient slat or bar.

to stretch or bend (a spring or other resilient device) beyond its elastic tolerance: This clip has been sprung.

to bring out, disclose, produce, make, etc., suddenly: to spring a joke.

to leap over.

Slang. to secure the release of (someone) from confinement, as of jail, military service, or the like.

Nautical. to move (a vessel) into or out of a berth by pulling on the offshore end of a warp made fast to the pier.

to explode (a mine).

noun

a leap, jump, or bound.

a sudden movement caused by the release of something elastic.

an elastic or bouncing quality: There is a spring in his walk.

elasticity or resilience: This board has spring in it.

a structural defect or injury caused by a warp, crack, etc.

an issue of water from the earth, taking the form, on the surface, of a small stream or standing as a pool or small lake.

the place of such an issue: mineral springs.

a source or fountainhead of something: a spring of inspiration.

an elastic contrivance or body, as a strip or wire of steel coiled spirally, that recovers its shape after being compressed, bent, or stretched.

the season between winter and summer: in the Northern Hemisphere from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice.

(in temperate zones) the season of the year following winter and characterized by the budding of trees, growth of plants, the onset of warmer weather, etc.

the first stage and freshest period: the spring of life.

sometimes initial capital letter. a period of growth, recovery, or regeneration (usually used in combination): signs of an economic spring.

usually initial capital letter.

a popular movement calling for liberal reforms and opposing authoritarian restrictions on freedom and information access (usually used in combination): the brief Seoul Spring of 1979–80; the Academic Spring’s goal of free access to published research.See also Prague Spring, Arab Spring.
a period of liberalization or democratization.

Nautical.

warp(def 16).
a line from the quarter of a vessel to an anchor on the bottom, used to hold the vessel at its mooring, broadside to the current.

Also called springing. Architecture.

the point at which an arch or dome rises from its support.
the rise or the angle of the rise of an arch.

Archaic. the dawn, as of day, light, etc.

adjective

of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable for the season of spring: spring flowers.

resting on or containing mechanical springs.

Verb Phrases

spring for, Informal. to pay for; treat someone to.

Origin of spring

before 900; (v.) Middle English springen, Old English springan; cognate with Dutch, German springen, Old Norse springa; (noun) Middle English spring(e), Old English spring, spryng issue of a stream; compare Middle Low German, Old High German, Danish, Swedish spring

SYNONYMS FOR spring

1 jump, bound, hop, vault.

2 recoil, rebound.

3 shoot, dart, fly.

4 start, originate.

6 emerge, emanate, issue, flow.

12 bend, warp.

31 resiliency, buoyancy.

35 origin, head.

45 vernal.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR spring ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM spring

spring·like, adjective out·spring, verb (used with object), out·sprang or, often, out·sprung; out·sprung; out·spring·ing. re·spring, verb, re·sprang or, often, re·sprung, re·spring·ing. un·der·spring, noun

un·der·spring, verb (used without object), un·der·sprang or un·der·sprung, un·der·sprung, un·der·spring·ing.

Words nearby spring

sprig, spriggy, sprightful, sprightly, sprigtail, spring, spring balance, spring beauty, spring binder, spring break, spring cankerworm

British Dictionary definitions for spring for

spring

/ (sprɪŋ) /

verb springs, springing, sprang, sprung or sprung

to move or cause to move suddenly upwards or forwards in a single motion

to release or be released from a forced position by elastic force the bolt sprang back

(tr) to leap or jump over

(intr) to come, issue, or arise suddenly

(intr) (of a part of a mechanism, etc) to jump out of place

to make (wood, etc) warped or split or (of wood, etc) to become warped or split

to happen or cause to happen unexpectedly to spring a surprise; the boat sprung a leak

(intr) to develop or originate the idea sprang from a chance meeting

(intr usually foll by from) to be descended he sprang from peasant stock

(intr often foll by up) to come into being or appear suddenly factories springing up

(tr) (of a gun dog) to rouse (game) from cover

(intr) (of game or quarry) to start or rise suddenly from cover

(intr) to appear to have a strong upward movement the beam springs away from the pillar

to explode (a mine) or (of a mine) to explode

(tr) to provide with a spring or springs

(tr) informal to arrange the escape of (someone) from prison

(intr) archaic, or poetic (of daylight or dawn) to begin to appear

noun

the act or an instance of springing

a leap, jump, or bound

the quality of resilience; elasticity
(as modifier)spring steel

the act or an instance of moving rapidly back from a position of tension

a natural outflow of ground water, as forming the source of a stream
(as modifier)spring water

a device, such as a coil or strip of steel, that stores potential energy when it is compressed, stretched, or bent and releases it when the restraining force is removed
(as modifier)a spring mattress

a structural defect such as a warp or bend

(sometimes capital) the season of the year between winter and summer, astronomically from the March equinox to the June solstice in the N hemisphere and from the September equinox to the December solstice in the S hemisphere
(as modifier)spring showers Related adjective: vernal

the earliest or freshest time of something

a source or origin

one of a set of strips of rubber, steel, etc, running down the inside of the handle of a cricket bat, hockey stick, etc

Also called: spring line nautical a mooring line, usually one of a pair that cross amidships

a flock of teal

architect another name for springing

Derived forms of spring

springless, adjective springlike, adjective

Word Origin for spring

Old English springan; related to Old Norse springa, Old High German springan, Sanskrit sprhayati he desires, Old Slavonic pragu grasshopper

Scientific definitions for spring for

spring

[ sprĭng ]

A device, such as a coil of wire, that returns to its original shape after being compressed or stretched. Because of their ability to return to their original shape, springs are used to store energy, as in mechanical clocks, and to absorb or lessen energy, as in the suspension system of vehicles.

A small stream of water flowing naturally from the Earth.

Idioms and Phrases with spring for

spring for

Pay another's expenses, treat, as in I'll spring for the dinner this time. [Slang; c. 1900]

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spring

verb (used without object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

verb (used with object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

noun

adjective

Verb Phrases

Origin of spring

SYNONYMS FOR spring

OTHER WORDS FROM spring

Words nearby spring

British Dictionary definitions for spring for

verb springs, springing, sprang, sprung or sprung

noun

Derived forms of spring

Word Origin for spring

Scientific definitions for spring for

Idioms and Phrases with spring for

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spring

verb (used without object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

verb (used with object), sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring·ing.

noun

adjective

Verb Phrases

Origin of spring

SYNONYMS FOR spring

OTHER WORDS FROM spring

Words nearby spring

Words related to spring for

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for spring for

verb springs, springing, sprang, sprung or sprung

noun

Derived forms of spring

Word Origin for spring

Scientific definitions for spring for

Idioms and Phrases with spring for

British Dictionary definitions for spring for