sprint
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a short race at full speed.
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a burst of speed at any point during a long race, as near the finish line.
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a brief spell of great activity.
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a short work cycle of fixed length during which specific goals, tasks, etc., need to be completed by a team: often used in agile development.
noun
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athletics a short race run at top speed, such as the 100 metres
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a fast finishing speed at the end of a longer race, as in running or cycling, etc
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any quick run
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sprint
First recorded in 1560–70; perhaps continuing Old English sprintan (unrecorded; compare gesprintan “to emit”); cognate with Old Norse spretta, Old High German sprinzan “to jump up”
Explanation
When you run really fast, you sprint. You and your sister might sprint to the bus stop, racing to see who can get there first. In the sport of track and field, a sprint is a short race that's run at top speed the whole way. Two professional cyclists also sprint when they race on bikes that start out side-by-side. If you notice a swarm of angry wasps heading your direction, you can sprint indoors, hoping you move faster than they do. Sprint has a Scandinavian root, possibly the Old Norse word spretta, "to jump up."
Vocabulary lists containing sprint
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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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.
EPA chief Lee Zeldin said the actions put the brake on a "rushed, frantic, reckless sprint" by previous administrations to phase out HFCs.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Stanford-bound Connor Ohl of Newport Harbor won the 50 freestyle sprint for a second straight year in 19.96 — one-hundredth of a second off the meet record set in 2008 by Joey Hale of Redlands.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026
Offensive players sprint to every corner of the court—and defenders run themselves into the red to keep up.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
You don’t get real insight into a field in a weekend sprint.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
I sprint for the stairs, but the giant snake doesn’t give chase.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
