spring

verb (past sprang or chiefly N. Amer. sprung; past participle sprung)

1》 move suddenly or rapidly upwards or forwards.

    ↘cause (a game bird) to rise from cover.

2》 move suddenly by or as if by the action of a spring.

3》 operate or cause to operate by means of a spring mechanism.

4》 (spring from) originate or appear from.

    ↘(spring up) suddenly develop or appear.

    ↘(spring something on) present something suddenly or unexpectedly to.

5》 informal bring about the escape or release of (a prisoner).

6》 [usu. as adjective sprung] provide (a vehicle or item of furniture) with springs.

7》 (of wood) become warped or split.

8》 (spring for) N. Amer. informal pay for.

noun

1》 the season after winter and before summer, in which vegetation begins to appear.

    ↘Astronomy the period from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.

2》 an elastic device, typically a helical metal coil, that can be pressed or pulled but returns to its former shape when released.

    ↘elastic quality.

3》 a sudden jump upwards or forwards.

4》 a place where water wells up from an underground source.

5》 an upward curvature of a ship's deck planking from the horizontal.

    ↘a split in a wooden plank or spar under strain.

6》 Nautical a hawser laid out from a ship's bow or stern and secured to a fixed point in order to prevent movement or assist manoeuvring.

Phrases

spring a leak (of a boat or container) develop a leak.

Derivatives

springless adjective

springlet noun (literary).

springlike adjective

Origin

OE spring (n.), springan (v.), of Gmc origin.