spring

American  

[spring] / sprɪŋ /

verb (used without object)

• springs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sprung,
  past participle,  past
• sprang,
  past
• springing
  present participle

1. to rise, leap, move, or act suddenly and swiftly, as by a sudden dart or thrust forward or outward, or being suddenly released from a coiled or constrained position.

   to spring into the air; a tiger about to spring.

   Synonyms:

   vault, hop, bound, jump

2. to be released from a constrained position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring.

   A trap springs. The door sprang open and in he walked.

   Synonyms:

   rebound, recoil

3. to issue forth suddenly, as water, blood, sparks, fire, etc. (often followed by forth, out, orup ).

   Blood sprang from the wound.

   Synonyms:

   fly, dart, shoot

4. to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time (usually followed byup ).

   Industries sprang up in the suburbs.

   Synonyms:

   originate, start

5. to come into being by growth, as from a seed or germ, bulb, root, etc.; grow, as plants.

6. to proceed or originate from a specific source or cause.

   Synonyms:

   flow, issue, emanate, emerge

7. to have as one's birth or lineage; be descended, as from a person, family, stock, etc.; come from.

   to spring from ancient aristocracy.

8. to rise or extend upward, as a spire.

9. to take an upward course or curve from a point of support, as an arch.

10. to come or appear suddenly, as if at a bound.

    An objection sprang to mind.

11. to start or rise from cover, as a pheasant, woodcock, or the like.

12. to become bent or warped, as boards.

    Synonyms:

    warp, bend

13. to shift or work loose, as parts of a mechanism, structure, etc..

    The board sprang from the fence during the storm.

14. to explode, as a mine.

15. Archaic. to begin to appear, as day, light, etc.; dawn.

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verb (used with object)

• springs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sprung,
  past participle,  past
• sprang,
  past
• springing
  present participle

1. to cause to spring.

2. to cause to fly back, move, or act, as by resiliency, elastic force, a spring, etc..

   to spring a lock.

3. to cause to shift out of place, work loose, warp, split, or crack.

   Moisture sprang the board from the fence.

4. to split or crack.

   The ship sprang its keel on a rock.

5. to develop by or as by splitting or cracking.

   The boat sprang a leak.

6. to bend by force, or force in by bending, as a resilient slat or bar.

7. to stretch or bend (a spring or other resilient device) beyond its elastic tolerance.

   This clip has been sprung.

8. to bring out, disclose, produce, make, etc., suddenly.

   to spring a joke.

9. to leap over.

10. Slang. to secure the release of (someone) from confinement, as of jail, military service, or the like.

11. Nautical. to move (a vessel) into or out of a berth by pulling on the offshore end of a warp made fast to the pier.

12. to explode (a mine).

noun

• springs
  plural

1. a leap, jump, or bound.

2. a sudden movement caused by the release of something elastic.

3. an elastic or bouncing quality.

   There is a spring in his walk.

4. elasticity or resilience.

   This board has spring in it.

   Synonyms:

   buoyancy, resilience

5. a structural defect or injury caused by a warp, crack, etc.

6. an issue of water from the earth, taking the form, on the surface, of a small stream or standing as a pool or small lake.

7. the place of such an issue.

   mineral springs.

8. a source or fountainhead of something.

   a spring of inspiration.

   Synonyms:

   head, origin

9. an elastic contrivance or body, as a strip or wire of steel coiled spirally, that recovers its shape after being compressed, bent, or stretched.

10. the season between winter and summer: in the Northern Hemisphere from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice.

11. (in temperate zones) the season of the year following winter and characterized by the budding of trees, growth of plants, the onset of warmer weather, etc.

12. the first stage and freshest period.

    the spring of life.

13. sometimes initial capital letter. a period of growth, recovery, or regeneration (usually used in combination).

    signs of an economic spring.

14. usually initial capital letter.

    1. a popular movement calling for liberal reforms and opposing authoritarian restrictions on freedom and information access (usually used in combination).

       the brief Seoul Spring of 1979–80; the Academic Spring’s goal of free access to published research.

    2. a period of liberalization or democratization.

15. Nautical.

    1. warp.

    2. a line from the quarter of a vessel to an anchor on the bottom, used to hold the vessel at its mooring, broadside to the current.

16. Also called springing.  Architecture.

    1. the point at which an arch or dome rises from its support.

    2. the rise or the angle of the rise of an arch.

17. Archaic. the dawn, as of day, light, etc.

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable for the season of spring.

   spring flowers.

   Synonyms:

   vernal

2. resting on or containing mechanical springs.

verb phrase

1. spring for to pay for; treat someone to.

spring British  

/ sprɪŋ /

verb

1. to move or cause to move suddenly upwards or forwards in a single motion

2. to release or be released from a forced position by elastic force

   the bolt sprang back

3. (tr) to leap or jump over

4. (intr) to come, issue, or arise suddenly

5. (intr) (of a part of a mechanism, etc) to jump out of place

6. to make (wood, etc) warped or split or (of wood, etc) to become warped or split

7. to happen or cause to happen unexpectedly

   to spring a surprise

   the boat sprung a leak

8. (intr) to develop or originate

   the idea sprang from a chance meeting

9. to be descended

   he sprang from peasant stock

10. to come into being or appear suddenly

    factories springing up

11. (tr) (of a gun dog) to rouse (game) from cover

12. (intr) (of game or quarry) to start or rise suddenly from cover

13. (intr) to appear to have a strong upward movement

    the beam springs away from the pillar

14. to explode (a mine) or (of a mine) to explode

15. (tr) to provide with a spring or springs

16. informal (tr) to arrange the escape of (someone) from prison

17. archaic (intr) (of daylight or dawn) to begin to appear

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noun

1. the act or an instance of springing

2. a leap, jump, or bound

3. 1. the quality of resilience; elasticity

   2. ( as modifier )

      spring steel

4. the act or an instance of moving rapidly back from a position of tension

5. 1. a natural outflow of ground water, as forming the source of a stream

   2. ( as modifier )

      spring water

6. 1. a device, such as a coil or strip of steel, that stores potential energy when it is compressed, stretched, or bent and releases it when the restraining force is removed

   2. ( as modifier )

      a spring mattress

7. a structural defect such as a warp or bend

8. 1. (sometimes capital) the season of the year between winter and summer, astronomically from the March equinox to the June solstice in the N hemisphere and from the September equinox to the December solstice in the S hemisphere

   2. ( as modifier )

      spring showers

9. the earliest or freshest time of something

10. a source or origin

11. one of a set of strips of rubber, steel, etc, running down the inside of the handle of a cricket bat, hockey stick, etc

12. Also called: spring line.  nautical a mooring line, usually one of a pair that cross amidships

13. a flock of teal

14. architect another name for springing

spring Scientific  

/ sprĭng /

1. A device, such as a coil of wire, that returns to its original shape after being compressed or stretched. Because of their ability to return to their original shape, springs are used to store energy, as in mechanical clocks, and to absorb or lessen energy, as in the suspension system of vehicles.

2. A small stream of water flowing naturally from the Earth.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underspring
  noun
• respring
  verb
• outspring
  verb (used with object)
• underspring
  verb (used without object)
• springless
  adjective
• springlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• springs
  plural

Participles

• springing
  present
• sprung
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spring
  simple
• springs
  simple
• have sprung
  perfect
• has sprung
  perfect
• am springing
  progressive
• are springing
  progressive
• is springing
  progressive
• have been springing
  perfect progressive
• has been springing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sprang
  simple
• sprung
  simple
• had sprung
  perfect
• was springing
  progressive
• were springing
  progressive
• had been springing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spring
  simple
• will have sprung
  perfect
• will be springing
  progressive
• will have been springing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of spring

First recorded before 900; (for the verb) Middle English springen, Old English springan; cognate with Dutch, German springen, Old Norse springa; (for the noun) Middle English spring(e), Old English spring, spryng “issue of a stream”; compare Middle Low German, Old High German, Danish, Swedish spring

Explanation

There's nothing like sitting on a sharp tack to make you spring out of your chair. The verb spring means to leap or bounce up suddenly. When you spring, you jump abruptly. In fact, your body acts like another definition of spring, "a coil of metal that bounces back when pushed." The Old English springan, "to leap, burst forth, or fly up," is the root of spring, and most uses of the word are clearly connected to that origin. Even when an idea springs to mind, or you spring bad news on someone, the thoughts seem to leap forward.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spring springs sprang sprung springing

“We have no risk and we’re the ones paying,” Nathan Vosburg, mayor of Coalinga, told an insurance department representative at a City Council meeting in spring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

This spring, however, the casino offered an even stranger spectacle when a Bitcoin convention filled the expo hall.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

Smile broke up in the spring of 1970 but the group still had a booking to fulfill at Truro City Hall, now known as the Hall for Cornwall.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Growers have ordered hundreds of thousands of resistant trees for planting in the spring, with about a million in production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Mary Redfield grabbed a wrap and followed her good neighbor out into the cold spring night.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

After Rory was referred to GOSH, medics thought he may benefit from the new nitinol springs, instead of the traditional steel springs, because his case was severe.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

But this year the Rockies had the least snow on record, and they’ve watched springs dry up and creeks dwindle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

In a will, this is typically set up as what’s called a testamentary trust, which is a trust that springs out of a will.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

"The Smyrnaeans have the river Meles, with its lovely water, and at its springs is the grotto, where they say Homer composed his poems," wrote the 2nd-century Greek chronicler and geographer Pausanias.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

But it was maintained that rainfall alone could not explain the size of the rivers or the existence of springs emerging from underground; springs were fed directly, it was argued, from the ocean.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

He dropped to his knees, then sprang up, punched his fist into the air and shouted: "We have done it."

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Informal ● outposts sprang up around settlements to claim more land.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

Araki sprang out of the New Queer Cinema of the ’90s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

He said it sprang from his love of painting animals, then became an "exercise in looking into grief", also honouring friends who had died.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

By luck or persistence, either women took roles right beside men or they joined volunteer regiments known as “people’s corps” that sprang up all over the nation and later merged with the Red Army.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The contact lens maker just sprung a surprise no one saw coming.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The series has sprung, somewhat unusually, from Davidson’s guest role in a 33-year-old two-episode arc on Martin Lawrence’s Fox sitcom, “Martin.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Videos of first-time buyers ripping rare cards on TikTok have racked up millions of views, and new collectors have sprung up everywhere as a result of the fandom reaching fresh audiences on social media.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

Glee is not, however, the word that sprung to mind when Claude and Mom had a little exchange about the spelling of Katherine of Aragon’s name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

New religious faiths sprung from the state’s rich soil: Shakers, Mormons, and Adventists, among others.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

While a cheaper, older device is tempting, springing for a more recent generation will give you more years of life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

But the more unavailable your manager is, the less likely they will be looking for you — or springing a last-minute assignment on you.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

The field is more crowded now, with Bowlero, Top Golf, and other eat-and-play concepts springing up in many of the same areas.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

While luxury hotels are springing up in Ashgabat and Avaza, the main seaside resort on the Caspian Sea, the rest of the country is poorly equipped for visitors.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Here eleven poisonous rivers cut through the mist, each springing from the same well at the center of it all, the roaring maelstrom called Hvergelmir.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman