sprint

American  

[sprint] / sprɪnt /

verb (used without object)

• sprints,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sprinted,
  past participle,  past
• sprinting
  present participle

1. to race or move at full speed, especially for a short distance, as in running, rowing, etc.

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verb (used with object)

• sprints,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sprinted,
  past participle,  past
• sprinting
  present participle

1. to traverse at full speed.

   to sprint a half mile.

noun

• sprints
  plural

1. a short race at full speed.

2. a burst of speed at any point during a long race, as near the finish line.

3. a brief spell of great activity.

4. 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.

sprint British  

/ sprɪnt /

noun

1. athletics a short race run at top speed, such as the 100 metres

2. a fast finishing speed at the end of a longer race, as in running or cycling, etc

3. any quick run

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verb

1. to go at top speed, as in running, cycling, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sprinter
  noun
• outsprint
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sprints
  plural

Participles

• sprinting
  present
• sprinted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sprint
  simple
• sprints
  simple
• have sprinted
  perfect
• has sprinted
  perfect
• am sprinting
  progressive
• are sprinting
  progressive
• is sprinting
  progressive
• have been sprinting
  perfect progressive
• has been sprinting
  perfect progressive

Past

• sprinted
  simple
• had sprinted
  perfect
• was sprinting
  progressive
• were sprinting
  progressive
• had been sprinting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sprint
  simple
• will have sprinted
  perfect
• will be sprinting
  progressive
• will have been sprinting
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sprint sprints sprinted sprinting

As one British sprint star achieved a piece of history a decade in the making, the other continued to demonstrate that she is only just getting started.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Crowley and his backers had undertaken an intense late-July sprint to persuade Democrats to coalesce around him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

When William Fleming, James’s brother, was voted his family’s representative for the 50 meter sprint, the pressure was palpable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Further, given the sprint of the race, there is not a ton of ability for candidates to make themselves known.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

The searing pain created by his desperate sprint had blocked any sendings he might have received from Tiamat.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

From F1's point of view, primarily it wants the sprints to take place on tracks that will provide an exciting qualifying session and race.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The kid known for his electric speed ranks only ninth in total sprints on his own team and his average speed has been below his teammate Aymeric Laporte’s—even though Laporte is a central defender.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

It’s tempting to portray competition in the quantum space as a mad dash, akin to the high-stakes sprints to commercialize cloud compute and artificial intelligence.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc only seven times last year across all qualifying sessions, over 24 grands prix and six sprints.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

Because the city was crisscrossed by water, clumps of buildings were interspersed with overgrown jungle, all muddled together with occasional sprints of broad avenues.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Springboks took advantage of the alterations when another loose kick was worked to wing Williams who sprinted away for the bonus-point try.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He sprinted back on defense and blocked a shot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

The former captain, who sprinted on to the field to congratulate her players during the timeout after Ecclestone's first catch, has calmly quietened talk of the issue.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Instead, defender Nuno Mendes sprinted in and drove a low, left-footed strike into the bottom of the net.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

I sprinted up the stairs and left Connor in my wake.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

Neither UK Athletics, for whom he worked as a consultant sprinting coach, nor the sprinters he coached knew why he was out of contact.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The first act has a visceral, terrifying sequence with panicky close-ups of extras sprinting pell-mell toward the car.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The 24-year-old, who's gunning for a historic quadruple win at the event this week, told BBC Newsbeat "the glam definitely helps that mentality because sprinting is such a confidence game".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

SOMERS, N.Y.—Robert Carleton was getting the mail one day in April when he saw a group of teenage boys sprinting away from nearby woods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Belet cried out even as she started sprinting toward her mom, but she didn't have the strength to throw Kasusu the necessary two hundred feet.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• dart
• dash
• rush
• scamper
• scoot
• scurry