spring

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To move or burst forth.
2. (intransitive) To move or burst forth.
3. (intransitive) To move or burst forth.
4. (UK, dialectal, intransitive) To move or burst forth.
5. (figuratively, intransitive) To move or burst forth.
6. (figuratively, intransitive, sometimes) To move or burst forth.
7. (figuratively, intransitive, usually) To move or burst forth.
8. (intransitive, usually) To move or burst forth.
9. (intransitive, obsolete) To move or burst forth.
10. (transitive) To cause to spring (all senses).
11. (transitive) To cause to spring (all senses).
12. (transitive) To leap over.
13. (obsolete) To breed with, to impregnate.
14. (obsolete, transitive) To wet, to moisten.
15. (intransitive, usually) To burst into pieces, to explode, to shatter.
16. (obsolete) To go off.
17. (ambitransitive, perfective, usually) To crack.
18. To come upon and flush out.
19. (Australia, slang) To catch in an illegal act or compromising position.
20. (obsolete) To begin.
21. (obsolete, slang) To put bad money into circulation.
22. To tell, to share.
23. (US, slang, transitive) To free from imprisonment, especially by facilitating an illegal escape.
24. (intransitive, rare, slang) To be free of imprisonment, especially by illegal escape.
25. (transitive) To build, to form the initial curve of.
26. (intransitive) To extend, to curve.
27. (transitive) To turn a vessel using a spring attached to its anchor cable.
28. (transitive) To pay or spend a certain sum, to yield.
29. (intransitive, obsolete, slang) To raise an offered price.
30. (US, alt-of, alternative, dialectal, transitive) Alternative form of sprain.
31. (US, alt-of, alternative, dialectal, transitive) Alternative form of strain.
32. (intransitive, obsolete) To act as a spring: to strongly rebound.
33. (rare, transitive) To equip with springs, especially (of vehicles) to equip with a suspension.
34. (figuratively, obsolete, rare) to inspire, to motivate.
35. (ambitransitive) To deform owing to excessive pressure, to become warped; to intentionally deform in order to position and then straighten in place.
36. (UK, dialectal, intransitive) To swell with milk or pregnancy.
37. (archaic, transitive) To sound, to play.
38. To find or get enough food during springtime.

Noun

1. (countable) An act of springing: a leap, a jump.
2. (countable, uncountable) The season of the year in temperate regions in which temperatures and daylight hours rise, and plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life.
3. (countable, uncountable) The season of the year in temperate regions in which temperatures and daylight hours rise, and plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life.
4. (countable, uncountable) The season of the year in temperate regions in which temperatures and daylight hours rise, and plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life.
5. (figuratively, uncountable) The time of something's growth; the early stages of some process.
6. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) The time of something's growth; the early stages of some process.
7. (countable) Someone with ivory or peach skin tone and eyes and hair that are not extremely dark, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.
8. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
9. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
10. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
11. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
12. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
13. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
14. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
15. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
16. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
17. (countable, uncountable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
18. (countable, slang) An erection of the penis.
19. (countable, obsolete) A crack which has sprung up in a mast, spar, or (rare) a plank or seam.
20. (countable, uncountable) Springiness: an attribute or quality of springing, springing up, or springing back, particularly
21. (countable, uncountable) Springiness: an attribute or quality of springing, springing up, or springing back, particularly
22. (countable) The source from which an action or supply of something springs.
23. (countable, uncountable) Something which causes others or another to spring forth or spring into action, particularly
24. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Something which causes others or another to spring forth or spring into action, particularly

Opposite of

neap tide

Synonyms

jump

leap

fountain

⛲

bound

source

springtime

well

bounce

hop

skip

fount

vault

rebound

originate

arise

grow

sprout

vernal

saltation

recoil

prance

rise

plunge

stem

key

🔑

come

jump up

natural spring

fountainhead

shoot

cascade

waterfall

elasticity

start

resile

dance

💃

proceed

dive

water source

outpouring

outflow

origin

summer

🏖️

mainspring

machine

leaping

stream

springtide

issue

result

Translations

primavera

primavera

printemps

Frühling

source

Quelle

lente

Feder

🪶

primavera

fuente

manantial

sauter

sorgente

bron

Pronounced as (IPA)

/spɹɪŋ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: springen

Inherited from Old English: springan

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: springe

Cognate with Western Frisian: springe

Cognate with Dutch: springen

Cognate with German: springen

Cognate with Danish: springe

Cognate with Swedish: springa

Cognate with Norwegian: springe

Cognate with Faroese: springa

Cognate with Icelandic: springa

Cognate with Lithuanian: spreñgti

Cognate with Church Slavic: прѧсти

Cognate with Latin: spargere

Cognate with Ancient Greek: σπέρχω

Cognate with Sanskrit: स्पृहयति

Inherited from Middle English: spryng

Inherited from Old English: spring

Inherited from Old English: spryng

In summary

From Middle English springen, from Old English springan (“to spring, leap, bounce, sprout forth, emerge, spread out”), from Proto-West Germanic *springan, from Proto-Germanic *springaną (“to burst forth”), from Proto-Indo-European *spre(n)ǵʰ- (“to move, race, spring”), from *sper- (“to jerk, twitch, snap, shove”).
Cognates
* Saterland Frisian springe
* West Frisian springe
* Dutch springen
* German Low German springen
* German springen
* Danish springe
* Swedish springa
* Norwegian springe
* Faroese springa
* Icelandic springa (“to burst, explode”).
Other possible cognates include Lithuanian spreñgti (“to push (in)”), Old Church Slavonic прѧсти (pręsti, “to spin, to stretch”), Latin spargere (“to sprinkle, to scatter”), Ancient Greek σπέρχω (spérkhō, “to hasten”), Sanskrit स्पृहयति (spṛháyati, “to be eager”). Some newer senses derived from the noun.

Sentences

We went rafting in Switzerland and alpine skiing in Austria this spring .