spur

[spur]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spur ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a U-shaped device that slips over and straps to the heel of a boot and has a blunt, pointed, or roweled projection at the back for use by a mounted rider to urge a horse forward.

anything that goads, impels, or urges, as to action, speed, or achievement.

climbing iron.

Ornithology. a stiff, usually sharp, horny process on the leg of various birds, especially the domestic rooster, or on the bend of the wing, as in jacanas and screamers.

Pathology. a bony projection or exostosis.

a sharp piercing or cutting instrument fastened to the leg of a gamecock in cockfighting; gaff.

Physical Geography. a ridge or line of elevation projecting from or subordinate to the main body of a mountain or mountain range.

something that projects and resembles or suggests a gaff; sharp projection.

a short or stunted branch or shoot, as of a tree.

Typography. a short, seriflike projection from the bottom of the short vertical stroke in the capital G in some fonts.

wing dam.

Botany.

a slender, usually hollow, projection from some part of a flower, as from the calyx of the larkspur or the corolla of the violet.
Also called spur shoot.a short shoot bearing flowers, as in fruit trees.

Architecture.

a short wooden brace, usually temporary, for strengthening a post or some other part.
any offset from a wall, as a buttress.
griffe².

Ceramics. a triangular support of refractory clay for an object being fired.

Railroads. spur track.

verb (used with object), spurred, spur·ring.

to prick with or as if with a spur or spurs; incite or urge on: The rider spurred his mount ruthlessly. Appreciation spurs ambition.

to strike or wound with the spur, as a gamecock.

to furnish with spurs or a spur.

verb (used without object), spurred, spur·ring.

to goad or urge one's horse with spurs or a spur; ride quickly.

to proceed hurriedly; press forward: We spurred onward through the night.

Idioms

on the spur of the moment, without deliberation; impulsively; suddenly: We headed for the beach on the spur of the moment.

win one's spurs, to achieve distinction or success for the first time; prove one's ability or worth: Our team hasn't won its spurs yet.

Origin of spur

before 900; (noun) Middle English spure, Old English spura; cognate with Old High German sporo, Old Norse spori spur; akin to spurn; (v.) Middle English spuren, derivative of the noun

Related formsspur·less, adjectivespur·like, adjectivespur·rer, noun

Synonyms for spur

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR spur ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. goad. 2. incitement, stimulus, incentive, inducement, provocation, instigation. 16. goad, provoke, stimulate, impel, inspire, induce, instigate.

Antonyms for spur

16. discourage.

spur

[spur]

noun Papermaking.

a batch of newly made rag-paper sheets.

Origin of spur

First recorded in 1880–85; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for spur

arouse, propel, drive, trigger, push, spark, stir, stimulate, urge, motivation, prick, impetus, needle, goad, incentive, inducement, catalyst, impulse, motive, incitation

Examples from the Web for spur

Contemporary Examples of spur

And for those seeking a quick fix: Studies show that light therapy can spur a mood lift in just several days.
9 Ways to Cope With Seasonal Affective Disorder
DailyBurn
December 5, 2014
Though it had been meant to spur innovation, she said, “it became obvious that the law was actually working in reverse.”
Here Come the Smart Guns: Will New Jersey Soon Have to Sell Safer Guns?
Brandy Zadrozny
September 23, 2014
Nonetheless, Zarif said that any U.S. ground presence in Iraq would likely spur opposition.
Iran Warns Obama to Stay Out of Iraq
Eli Lake
September 18, 2014
“I think I sometimes acted as a spur, even though the spurring was not always wanted or welcome,” she said.
Channeling Eleanor
Eleanor Clift
September 9, 2014
Instead of suppressing turnout, the law seemed to spur people to go to the polls.
Cleveland, LeBron James, and the 2016 Republican Convention
Lloyd Green
July 14, 2014

Historical Examples of spur

How can you think of such funny things on the spur of the moment?
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
You gents feed your hosses the spur and leave the thinkin' to me.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Yet what can I say, for all men know that your valor needs the curb and not the spur.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
He struck the rivet such a blow that he snapped one shank of his spur short off.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
David Macy's house stood on the spur of a breezy upland at the end of a road.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for spur

spur

noun

a pointed device or sharp spiked wheel fixed to the heel of a rider's boot to enable him to urge his horse on

anything serving to urge or encouragethe increase in salary was a spur to their production

a sharp horny projection from the leg just above the claws in male birds, such as the domestic cock

a pointed process in any of various animals; calcar

a tubular extension at the base of the corolla in flowers such as larkspur

a short or stunted branch of a tree

a ridge projecting laterally from a mountain or mountain range

a wooden prop or a masonry reinforcing pier

another name for groyne

Also called: spur track a railway branch line or siding

a short side road leading off a main roada motorway spur

a sharp cutting instrument attached to the leg of a gamecock

on the spur of the moment on impulse

win one's spurs

historyto earn knighthood
to prove one's ability; gain distinction

verb spurs, spurring or spurred

(tr) to goad or urge with or as if with spurs

(intr) to go or ride quickly; press on

(tr) to injure or strike with a spur

(tr) to provide with a spur or spurs

Word Origin for spur

Old English spura; related to Old Norse spori, Old High German sporo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spur

Old English spura, spora (related to spurnan "to kick," see spurn), from Proto-Germanic *spuron (cf. Old Norse spori, Middle Dutch spore, Dutch spoor, Old High German sporo, German Sporn "spur"), from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn).

Generalized sense of "anything that urges on, stimulus," is from late 14c. Meaning "a ridge projecting off a mountain mass" is recorded from 1650s. "Widely extended senses ... are characteristic of a horsey race." [Weekley] Expression on the spur of the moment (1801) preserves archaic phrase on the spur "in great haste" (1520s). To win one's spurs is to gain knighthood by some valorous act, gilded spurs being the distinctive mark of a knight.

c.1200, from spur (n.). Related: Spurred; spurring.

spur in Medicine