spring-loaded
Americanadjective
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.
In the lower right of the steering wheel, the metallic, spring-loaded Manettino selector engages one of five drive modes, including Sport mode and Electronic Stability Control Off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Many past attempts have featured metal rods inserted into lava, pushed by hand or by spring-loaded piston, or even fired into the lava like a spear, to estimate the viscosity of the flow.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2024
Ultra Hand is named after the 1966 toy that operated like spring-loaded tongs, a relic of Nintendo’s history as a toy manufacturer.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023
There was a whoosh of air as the spring-loaded gate valve opened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023
“I should have known it the moment I saw these fins. They’re spring-loaded because they have to snap out when this device leaves its storage tube.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
