AskDefine | Define spring

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Dictionary Definition

spring

Noun

1 the season of growth; "the emerging buds were a sure sign of spring"; "he will hold office until the spring of next year" [syn: springtime]
2 a natural flow of ground water [syn: fountain, outflow, outpouring, natural spring]
3 a metal elastic device that returns to its shape or position when pushed or pulled or pressed; "the spring was broken"
4 a light springing movement upwards or forwards [syn: leap, leaping, saltation, bound, bounce]
5 the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length [syn: give, springiness]
6 a point at which water issues forth

Verb

1 move forward by leaps and bounds; "The horse bounded across the meadow"; "The child leapt across the puddle"; "Can you jump over the fence?" [syn: jump, leap, bound]
2 develop into a distinctive entity; "our plans began to take shape" [syn: form, take form, take shape]
3 spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide" [syn: bounce, resile, take a hop, bound, rebound, recoil, reverberate, ricochet]
4 produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly; "He sprang a new haircut on his wife"
5 develop suddenly; "The tire sprang a leak"
6 produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly; "He sprang these news on me just as I was leaving" [also: sprung, sprang]

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Pronunciation

  • , /sprɪŋ/, /sprIN/
  • Rhymes with: -ɪŋ

Etymology

springan

Verb

  1. To start to exist.
    Sometimes the ideas spring to life fully formed.
  2. To jump or leap.
    He sprang up from his seat.
  3. To release or set free, especially from prison.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

start to exist
  • Bulgarian: появявам се
  • Danish: springe
  • Dutch: ontspringen, ontspruiten, ontstaan
  • Finnish: nousta, syntyä
  • French: naître
  • German: entspringen
  • Greek: ξεπροβάλλω, ξεφυτρώνω
  • Italian: nascere, generarsi, formarsi
  • Japanese: 跳ね上がる (はねあがる, hane-agaru), 跳ねる (はねる, haneru)
  • Maltese: tfaċċa
  • Spanish: nacer
  • Turkish: ortaya çıkıvermek, belirivermek
jump or leap

Noun

  1. Traditionally the first of the four seasons, in which plants spring from the ground and trees come into blossom; typically regarded as being from March 21 to June 20 in the Northern Hemisphere and from September 21 to December 20 in the Southern Hemisphere.
  2. Spring tide; a tide of greater-than-average range, that is, around the first or third quarter of a lunar month, or around the times of the new or full moon.
  3. A place where water emerges from the ground.
  4. The property of a body of springing to its original form after being compressed, stretched, etc.
  5. A mechanical device made of flexible or coiled material that exerts force when it is bent, compressed or stretched.
  6. In the context of "countable|nautical": A rope attaching the bow of a vessel to the stern-side of the jetty, or vice versa, to stop the vessel from swaying.
  7. In the context of "countable|slang": An erection of the penis.
  8. The source of an action
    • 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973, § 9.
      ... discover, at least in some degree, the secret springs and principles, by which the human mind is actuated in its operations?

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

season
higher-than-average tide
  • Finnish: tulvavuoksi
  • Korean: 한사리 (hansari)
water source
property of a body of springing to its original form
device made of flexible material
rope on a boat
  • Finnish: springi
  • French: garde
the source of an action
  • Portuguese:

See also

Danish

Etymology

From springe

Noun

spring
  1. spring, jump, vault, leap

Related terms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsprɪŋ/

Verb form

spring
  1. first-person singular of springen

German

Verb form

spring
  1. imperative singular of springen

Swedish

Verb form

spring
  1. imperative of springa

Extensive Definition

Spring may refer to:

Art

Business

Fiction

  • Spring (Runelords), a character in The Runelords series of fantasy novels by David Farland

Film and television

Mathematics and computing

Music

Works

Albums

Performers

People

Places

Other uses

Springtime

See also

spring in German: Spring
spring in Spanish: Spring
spring in Persian: بهار (ابهام‌زدایی)
spring in French: Spring
spring in Dutch: Spring
spring in Polish: Spring (ujednoznacznienie)
spring in Russian: Spring
spring in Finnish: Spring

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

Eastertide, Highland fling, Lastex, Maytime, accrue from, adaptability, adolescence, aestival, air mattress, airiness, ambition, anabasis, and jump, appear, arctic, arise, arrive, ascension, ascent, aspiration, autumn, autumnal, backfire, backlash, backlashing, balance spring, baleen, basis, baths, battledore, be born, be contingent on, be due to, bedding, bedspring, begin, beginning, bend, bevy, birth, blast, blitz, blow to pieces, blow up, bolster, bolt, bomb, bombard, bonanza, boomerang, boreal, bounce, bounce back, bounciness, bound, bound back, broach, broad jump, brumal, buck, buckjump, buckle, bud from, budtime, buoyance, buoyancy, burst forth, calling, canicular, cannon, cannon off, canter, capriole, carom, casino, cause, charm, chewing gum, chink, clamber, clear, cleave, climb, climbing, cloud, club, clubhouse, come, come from, come into being, come into existence, come out, come out of, come up, commence, consideration, contort, contrecoup, cornucopia, covey, crack, crevasse, crook, crumple, curvet, cushion, cut, cut open, dart, demivolt, depend on, derive from, descend from, discharge, dispart, distort, divaricate, divide, elastic, elasticity, elastomer, elevation, emanate, emanate from, emancipate, emerge, emerge from, ensue from, equinoctial, escalade, evolve, excitant, extensibility, fissure, flexibility, flight, flock, flow, flow from, fly, fly back, fly open, flying jump, follow from, font, fount, fountain, fountainhead, fox-trot, gaggle, galliard, gallop, gambling house, gathering place, gelandesprung, germinate from, get, git, give, gnarl, goal, gold mine, grand jete, greenness, ground, grow, grow from, grow out of, guiding light, guiding star, gum, gum elastic, gush, gyring up, hairspring, handball, handspring, hang on, hangout, hatch, haunt, have repercussions, head, headspring, headstream, headwater, health resort, hibernal, hiemal, high jump, hightail, hinge on, hippety-hop, hive, hop, hop along, hotfoot, hurdle, ideal, impetus, incise, incitement, increase, innerspring mattress, inspiration, intention, issue, issue from, jet, jete, jig, jump, jump over, jump shot, jump turn, jump-hop, jump-off, jumping jack, juvenility, kick, kick back, kickback, knot, lash back, lavolta, lay open, leap, leap over, leapfrog, levitation, liberate, litter, liveliness, lode, lodestar, long jump, loom, loose, lop, lope, mainspring, make tracks, manumit, mat, matter, mattress, meeting place, midsummer, midwinter, mine, morris, motive, mount, mounting, murmuration, negotiate, ope, open, open up, origin, originate, originate in, out of season, overjump, overleap, overskip, pad, pallet, part, pay for, pillow, pop, pounce, pounce on, pounce upon, primavera, prime, principle, proceed, proceed from, puberty, pubescence, purlieu, quarry, racket, rallying point, reason, rebound, rebuff, recalcitrate, recalcitration, recoil, release, rent, repercuss, repercussion, repulse, resile, resilience, resiliency, resort, resource, responsiveness, ricochet, rift, rip, rise, rising, rive, riverhead, rocketing up, root, rubber, rubber ball, rubber band, rug, run, running broad jump, running high jump, sake, saltation, saut de basque, score, screw, seasonal, seedtime, separate, shock absorber, shoot up, shooting up, skein, ski jump, skip, skitter, sleeping bag, slit, snap, snap back, soaring, solstitial, source, source of supply, spa, spandex, split, spout, spread, spread out, sprightliness, spring back, spring from, spring open, springboard, springhead, springiness, springlike, springs, springtide, springtime, sprint, sprout, sprout from, spurt, stamping ground, staple, start, start aside, start up, startle, steeplechase, stem, stem from, step, step along, step lively, stimulant, stimulus, stretch, stretch fabric, stretchability, stretchiness, summer, summerlike, summerly, summery, surge, swarm, swing open, takeoff, taking off, tap, tear, tear open, throw open, tone, tonicity, tonus, tour jete, trampoline, trip, trot, turn, turn awry, turn on, twist, ulterior motive, unbind, unchain, underbed, underbedding, unshackle, upclimb, upcoming, updive, updraft, upgang, upgo, upgoing, upgrade, upgrowth, uphill, upleap, uplift, upping, uprisal, uprise, uprising, uprush, upshoot, upslope, upspring, upsurge, upsurgence, upsweep, upswing, vault, vein, vernal, vocation, warp, watch, watering place, well, wellhead, wellspring, whalebone, whence, winter, winterlike, wintery, wintry, wrench, wrest, wring, writhe, yield, youthfulness, youthhood, zooming
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