spur-of-the-moment
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of spur-of-the-moment
First recorded in 1800–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Everything in that seemingly spur-of-the-moment scene would have had to have been carefully arranged, which is why it comes off as clumsily showy rather than truly delightful.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
Liu, who lives in Manhattan, elaborated on why her library card, spur-of-the-moment theatergoing and riding her bicycle are essential to her well-being.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2024
Some are irked by the standardization of competitive breaking: Dancers strive to defy gravity and capture the music’s spirit in spur-of-the-moment sculptures carved from their muscles, bones and imagination.
From Salon • Aug. 13, 2024
For Lee Yuan-chun, that meant nine years of agonizing over whether to come forward ended with a spur-of-the-moment decision in June.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2023
While she was on board with the goal of the mission, it was its spur-of-the-moment quality that concerned her.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
