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.

Words nearby mainspring

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

Origin of mainspring

First recorded in 1585–95; main¹ + spring

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mainspring

noun

Words related to mainspring

Words nearby mainspring

Origin of mainspring

Examples from the Web for mainspring

British Dictionary definitions for mainspring

noun