sprig

American  

[sprig] / sprɪg /

noun

1. a small spray of some plant with its leaves, flowers, etc.

2. an ornament having the form of such a spray.

3. a shoot, twig, or small branch.

4. Facetious. a scion, offspring, or heir of a family, class, etc.

5. a youth or young fellow.

6. glazier's point.

7. a headless brad.

8. Metallurgy.

   1. a small peg for reinforcing the walls of a mold.

   2. a metal insert, used to chill certain portions of cast metal, that becomes an integral part of the finished casting.

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verb (used with object)

sprigged, sprigging

1. to mark or decorate (fabrics, pottery, etc.) with a design of sprigs.

2. to fasten with brads.

3. Horticulture. to propagate a plant, especially grass, by planting individual stolons.

4. Metallurgy. to reinforce the walls of (a mold) with sprigs.

5. to remove a sprig or sprigs from (a plant).

sprig British  

/ sprɪɡ /

noun

1. a shoot, twig, or sprout of a tree, shrub, etc; spray

2. an ornamental device resembling a spray of leaves or flowers

3. a small wire nail without a head

4. informal a youth

5. informal a person considered as the descendant of an established family, social class, etc

6. another name for stud 1

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verb

1. to fasten or secure with sprigs

2. to ornament (fabric, wallpaper, etc) with a design of sprigs

3. to make sprays from (twigs and branches)

Other Word Forms

• sprigger
  noun
• spriggy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sprig

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sprigge (noun); origin uncertain; sense “peg” perhaps of distinct origin; cf. sprag ¹, spray ²

Explanation

Spruce up your iced tea with a sprig of mint from the yard. A sprig is a cutting, stem, or small branch. A sprig is prettier than a twig because it often has leaves or flowers. As the stem of a plant, a sprig usually includes leaves and berries or flowers, like a sprig of holly on your front door at Christmas, or a sprig of rosemary as a garnish on your plate at dinner. Botanists, or plant scientists, think of sprigs as cuttings from plants that can be planted in soil and grown, like a sprig from a crocus or strawberry plant. The process of planting sprigs even has a name—sprigging.

Example Sentences

Each antibiotic-free, half-turkey is “adorned with a disk of compound butter and a sprig of fresh rosemary,” according to TJ’s, and vacuum-sealed for optimal freshness.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2025

While shooting the film at an airport off the east coast of Panama, Herzog, in costume, spotted a man on the other side of a high fence holding a sprig of flowers in his hand.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

Four of the plants included in the analysis are already extinct, including the Guadalupe Island olive, which was sequenced using a dried sprig from 1875.

From New York Times • May 11, 2024

She is holding a sprig from an olive tree.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

On a sprig of hope, I even called about an apartment listing on East 85th Street, a one-bedroom with hot plate for forty-five dollars a month.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Related Words

• sprout
• twig