sprint
Americanverb (used without object)
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sprints,
present (3rd person singular)
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sprinted,
past participle, past
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sprinting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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sprints,
present (3rd person singular)
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sprinted,
past participle, past
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sprinting
present participle
noun
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sprints
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sprintsimple
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sprintssimple
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have sprintedperfect
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has sprintedperfect
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am sprintingprogressive
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are sprintingprogressive
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is sprintingprogressive
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have been sprintingperfect progressive
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has been sprintingperfect progressive
Past
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sprintedsimple
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had sprintedperfect
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was sprintingprogressive
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were sprintingprogressive
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had been sprintingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
The rest of “The Crazy Uncle Joe Show” unravels as a barrage of rapid-fire ad libs that makes the 90-minute improv show feel like a comedic sprint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
American sprint stars Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson were among the champions amid a party atmosphere which featured a live track-side DJ.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Capitol in a wheelchair on Monday, as the Senate returned for its final legislative sprint ahead of the midterms, came as a shock to many observers.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
This is roughly analogous to me asserting that running headfirst into a telephone pole at a full sprint will not affect my health because I do not “intend” to concuss myself.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
“At the end of the hall, you’ll follow the others through the service exit. It’s a quick sprint to the back gate.”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Working with Tony Villani, the founder of XPE Sports, Kelce focused on “game-speed drills” to maximize his pace when he’s running actual routes, not just reeling off sprints in shorts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
He sprints across the Buckeyes’ practice field, snatching balls from every angle with either hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Netcompany will be led by Tarling to decide if he wants to continue and see out three gruelling weeks of sprints and mountainous climbs around southern Spain.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
They found that six 30-second, all-out sprints changed nearly one-quarter of the proteins measured in the blood immediately after exercise.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
Running a few feet in front of him is Sasuke—clearly the younger of the two—all grins and laughs, his boots crunching in the leaves as he sprints forward.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
But as troops in Gonzalez’s unit sprinted past razor wire to breach an enemy trench, he had a problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Humanoids sprinted faster than Usain Bolt and jumped 11 feet in the air from a standing position.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Agathe Chateau Frilloux sprinted down a long road parallel to the Champs Elysee, her daughter and son running close behind, only just making it to their designated gate before the set cut-off time.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
His colleague, Itha Ghale, says the powerful gust of air almost blew them away as they sprinted.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
He sprinted to the stairs and tried to close the gap, but when he reached the ground floor, there was no sign of her.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Because of his brief tenure at Anthropic, Coxon didn’t receive equity in a company that is sprinting to go public in the coming months with a market value of roughly $2 trillion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
U.S. importers are sprinting to the finish of a prolonged peak season this year, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
In the process, San Jose State’s quarterback was forced from the pocket and Wafle, now sprinting from the other direction, nearly forced a safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
She did so with a huge smile spread across her face, leaning into the big notes of Dangerous Woman, and sprinting across the stage during Break Free - one of many up-tempo highlights.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
He’d barely started to walk away when Jess and the twins were sprinting toward the forest.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
