sprout
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to cause to sprout.
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to remove sprouts from.
Sprout and boil the potatoes.
noun
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a shoot of a plant.
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a new growth from a germinating seed, or from a rootstock, tuber, bud, or the like.
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something resembling or suggesting a sprout, as in growth.
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a young person; youth.
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sprouts,
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the young shoots of alfalfa, soybeans, etc., eaten as a raw vegetable.
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verb
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(of a plant, seed, etc) to produce (new leaves, shoots, etc)
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to begin to grow or develop
new office blocks are sprouting up all over the city
noun
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a newly grown shoot or bud
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something that grows like a sprout
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See Brussels sprout
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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undersproutnoun
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resproutverb
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undersproutverb (used without object)
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nonsproutingadjective
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unsproutedadjective
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unsproutingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sproutsimple
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sproutssimple
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have sproutedperfect
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has sproutedperfect
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am sproutingprogressive
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are sproutingprogressive
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is sproutingprogressive
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have been sproutingperfect progressive
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has been sproutingperfect progressive
Past
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sproutedsimple
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had sproutedperfect
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was sproutingprogressive
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were sproutingprogressive
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had been sproutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sprout
1150–1200; (v.) Middle English spr ( o ) uten, Old English -sprūtan, in āsproten (past participle; see a- 3); cognate with Middle Dutch sprūten, German spriessen to sprout; akin to Greek speírein to scatter; (noun) Middle English; compare Middle Dutch, Middle Low German sprute
Explanation
A sprout is a small growth on a plant — a little new bud. Other things can sprout too: kids are constantly sprouting (growing). The key thing to think of when you're trying to remember the meaning of sprout is growth — as a noun, a sprout is a new growth of a plant, and as a verb, to sprout means to grow. Sprouting mainly applies to height and to the young, whether you're talking about plants, people, or things. An older person who gains fifty pounds is growing but not sprouting.
Vocabulary lists containing sprout
Bud, Not Buddy
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Seedfolks
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Old Yeller
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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 Buck Moon - named after the time male deer sprout new antlers - will rise on 29 July.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
When her first order, a kale and brussels sprout salad, arrived, she said she was shocked at how big it was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The cinema is a place where new ideas sprout and beliefs are forged.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
California’s deserts are bursting with color as strong wildflower displays sprout across the fields of Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Meat in my mouth, chew ten times, lettuce in my mouth, chew chew chew chew chew chew chew chew chew chew, soggy Brussels sprout, mushroom cap, chew, chew, chew.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
The fields of Eshtiwi show only the first faint signs of growth in June, with small green sprouts emerging around the village.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
I like the chickpea farro bowl with Brussels sprouts and tempeh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
There is no shortage of access to Brussels sprouts; people simply prefer to eat the wrong things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
He grows cauliflowers, broccoli, leeks and brussel sprouts around Comber in County Down.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
But the upshot is there are all these baby tree sprouts in our garden plots.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
In the shade beneath the fading giant, a seedling had sprouted.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Other factories sprouted, making such products as door hinges and coffee pots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Surveillance software sprouted in every cranny of the ballpark, first in service of providing more data for teams and front offices to pore over, then as fuel for ever more esoteric betting propositions.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
And he also sprouted up to 6-foot-7, which didn’t hurt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
Grass shoots sprouted behind them, leaving a trail, to show where they had been.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
On the housing front, rows of affordable duplexes are sprouting up for young families, retirees and empty-nesters next to single-family homes and farmland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
This struggle is exactly why so many social clubs have been sprouting up in L.A. over the last few years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
Images of seabirds, fish, and sprouting maize appear together on textiles, ceramics, pottery, wall carvings and paintings.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
Only raccoons are said to live in the Karlshorst buildings and birch saplings are sprouting out of a balcony.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
Sorrento quickly adjusted for this, and the rockets sprouting from the head began to tilt it skyward.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
