wellspring
Americannoun
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the head or source of a spring, stream, river, etc.; fountainhead.
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a source or supply of anything, especially when considered inexhaustible.
a wellspring of affection.
noun
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the source of a spring or stream; fountainhead
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a source of continual or abundant supply
Etymology
Origin of wellspring
First recorded before 900; Middle English welle spring, Old English wyllspring(e); see origin at well 2, spring
Explanation
The underground spring that provides water to a well can be called a wellspring. You can also use wellspring to mean the plentiful source of things like good ideas or information. If someone comments that you're a wellspring of jokes, they're using the word metaphorically, to mean that jokes seem to pour out of you like water from a spigot. Wellspring comes from the Old English welspryng, which had the literal "spring" meaning. When it's used figuratively, wellspring implies an infinite amount of something: "My dog is a wellspring of affection and stinky breath."
Vocabulary lists containing wellspring
Unwind
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Dry
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From Here
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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.
Romance, long one of the most popular book genres, has become a reliable wellspring of content for studios looking for hits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
"Make no mistake, Erivo remains a powerhouse, with pipes that shake the heavens and a wellspring of unforced emotional intensity that never runs dry."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
Angela’s vivid mood swings are a wellspring of entertainment; Tommy associates her phone number with an orchestral ringtone that sounds like a horror movie jump scare.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2025
It is, and has been since its founding about a century ago, the ideological wellspring of modern Sunni Islamism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025
“I think my captors fear my meager magic, dear. Iron dries out one’s magical wellspring, in a manner of speaking. By forcing me to wear these boots, they have made me quite powerless.”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
