spur on

Idioms

Goad or urge ahead, as in The thought of winning a Pulitzer Prize spurred the reporter on. This expression transfers using spurs to make a horse go faster to incentives of other kinds. [Late 1500s]

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.

Musk is scrambling to keep up in the AI race after helping launch OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015, the company behind the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT, which helped spur on the current AI craze.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2025

Going forward, the team hopes that its approach for assessing the vulnerability of multiple species can spur on additional conservation efforts.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

Some hope Swift's presence will also spur on the defending champions, who are playing their fourth Super Bowl in five years.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2024

“It happens and you’re hoping that doesn’t spur on more, but James had a tough inning … and that made for a tougher inning,” Francona said.

From Washington Times • Mar. 31, 2023

Iorek said, “Below the first spur on the track, there is a bush with resinous wood. Bring as much of that as you can.”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023