spring (spr?ng)v. sprang (spr?ng) or sprung (spr?ng), sprung, spring·ing, springs v.intr.1. To move upward or forward in a single quick motion or a series of such motions; leap: The goat sprang over the log.2. To move suddenly, especially because of being resilient or moved by a spring: I let the branch spring forward. The door sprang shut.3. To start doing something suddenly: The firefighters sprang into action.4. a. To appear or come into being quickly: New businesses are springing up rapidly.b. To issue or emerge suddenly: A cry sprang from her lips. A thought springs to mind.c. To arise from a source; develop: Their frustration springs from a misunderstanding. See Synonyms at stem1.5. To extend or curve upward, as a rafter or arch.6. To become warped, split, or cracked. Used of wood.7. To move out of place; come loose, as parts of a mechanism.8. Slang To buy something or pay an expense: He offered to spring for the dinner.v.tr.1. To cause to leap, dart, or come forth suddenly: The hound sprang a quail.2. To release from a checked or inoperative position: spring a trap.3. To present or disclose unexpectedly or suddenly: “He sprung on the world this novel approach to political journalism” (Curtis Wilkie).4. Slang To cause to be released from prison or other confinement.5. a. To cause to warp, split, or crack, as a mast.b. To have (a mast, for example) warp, split, or crack.n.1. An elastic device, such as a coil of wire, that regains its original shape after being compressed or extended.2. a. Elasticity; resilience: a mattress with a lot of spring.b. Energetic bounce: a spring to one’s step.3. The act or an instance of jumping or leaping.4. A usually rapid return to normal shape after removal of stress; recoil: the spring of a bow.5. A small stream of water flowing naturally from the earth.6. A source, beginning, or motive: “The giver herself may not be perfectly clear about the springs of her action” (Margaret Visser).7. a. The season of the year between winter and summer, during which the weather becomes warmer and plants revive, extending in the Northern Hemisphere from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice and popularly considered to include the months of March, April, and May. In the Southern Hemisphere austral spring includes September, October, and November.b. A time of growth and renewal.8. A warping, bending, or cracking, as that caused by excessive force.9. Architecture The point at which an arch or vault rises from its support.adj.1. Of or acting like a spring; resilient.2. Having or supported by springs: a spring mattress.3. a. Relating to or occurring in spring: spring showers; spring planting.b. Grown during the season of spring: spring crops.Idiom: spring a leak To start leaking suddenly: The boat sprang a leak. My balloon has sprung a leak.[Middle English springen, from Old English springan. N., Middle English springe, from Old English spring, wellspring.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.spring (spr??) vb, springs, springing, sprang, sprung or sprung1. to move or cause to move suddenly upwards or forward in a single motion2. to release or be released from a forced position by elastic force: the bolt sprang back. 3. (tr) to leap or jump over4. (intr) to come, issue, or arise suddenly5. (Mechanical Engineering) (intr) (of a part of a mechanism, etc) to jump out of place6. to make (wood, etc) warped or split or (of wood, etc) to become warped or split7. to happen or cause to happen unexpectedly: to spring a surprise; the boat sprung a leak. 8. (intr) to develop or originate: the idea sprang from a chance meeting. 9. (usually foll by: from) to be descended: he sprang from peasant stock. 10. (often foll by: up) to come into being or appear suddenly: factories springing up. 11. (Hunting) (tr) (of a gun dog) to rouse (game) from cover12. (Hunting) (intr) (of game or quarry) to start or rise suddenly from cover13. (intr) to appear to have a strong upward movement: the beam springs away from the pillar. 14. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) to explode (a mine) or (of a mine) to explode15. (tr) to provide with a spring or springs16. (tr) informal to arrange the escape of (someone) from prison17. (intr) archaic or poetic (of daylight or dawn) to begin to appearn18. the act or an instance of springing19. a leap, jump, or bound20. a. the quality of resilience; elasticityb. (as modifier): spring steel. 21. the act or an instance of moving rapidly back from a position of tension22. (Physical Geography) a. a natural outflow of ground water, as forming the source of a streamb. (as modifier): spring water. 23. (Mechanical Engineering) a. a device, such as a coil or strip of steel, that stores potential energy when it is compressed, stretched, or bent and releases it when the restraining force is removedb. (as modifier): a spring mattress. 24. a structural defect such as a warp or bend25. (Physical Geography) a. (sometimes capital) the season of the year between winter and summer, astronomically from the March equinox to the June solstice in the N hemisphere and from the September equinox to the December solstice in the S hemisphereb. (as modifier): spring showers. vernal26. the earliest or freshest time of something27. a source or origin28. (Cricket) one of a set of strips of rubber, steel, etc, running down the inside of the handle of a cricket bat, hockey stick, etc29. (Hockey (Field & Ice)) one of a set of strips of rubber, steel, etc, running down the inside of the handle of a cricket bat, hockey stick, etc30. (Nautical Terms) nautical Also called: spring line a mooring line, usually one of a pair that cross amidships31. (Zoology) a flock of teal32. (Architecture) architect another name for springing[Old English springan; related to Old Norse springa, Old High German springan, Sanskrit sprhayati he desires, Old Slavonic pragu grasshopper] ?springless adj ?spring?like adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014spring (spr??) v. sprang or, often, sprung; sprung; spring?ing; v.i. 1. to rise, leap, or move suddenly and swiftly: a tiger about to spring. 2. to be released suddenly from a constrained position: The door sprang open. 3. to issue forth suddenly or forcefully: Oil sprang from the well. 4. to come into being; arise: Industries sprang up in the suburbs. 5. to have as one’s birth or lineage: to spring from seafaring folk. 6. to extend upward. 7. to take an upward course or curve from a point of support, as an arch. 8. to occur suddenly: An objection sprang to mind. 9. to become bent or warped. v.t. 10. to cause to spring. 11. to cause the sudden operation of: to spring a trap. 12. to cause to work loose, warp, or split: Moisture sprang the board from the fence. 13. to undergo the development of: sprang a leak. 14. to bend by force. 15. to produce by surprise: to spring a joke. 16. to leap over. 17. Slang. to secure the release of from confinement. 18. spring for, Informal. to pay for; treat someone to. n. 19. an act of springing; a sudden leap or bound. 20. an elastic quality: a spring in his walk. 21. a structural defect caused by a warp or crack. 22. an issue of water from the ground. 23. the place of such an issue: mineral springs. 24. a source; fountainhead: a spring of inspiration. 25. an elastic contrivance or body, as a strip or wire of steel coiled spirally, that recovers its shape after being compressed, bent, or stretched. 26. the season between winter and summer, marked by the budding and growth of plants and the onset of warmer weather: in the Northern Hemisphere from the March equinox to the June solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere from the September equinox to the December solstice. 27. the first stage and freshest period: the spring of life. 28. Also called springing. a. the point at which an arch or dome rises from its support. b. the rise or the angle of the rise of an arch. [before 900; Old English springan, c. Old Frisian springa, Old Saxon, Old High German springan, Old Norse springa; (n.) Old English spring issue of a stream, c. Middle Low German, Old High German spring] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.spring (spr?ng)1. A device, such as a coil of wire, that returns to its original shape after being compressed or stretched. Because of their ability to return to their original shape, springs are used to store energy, as in mechanical clocks, and to absorb or lessen energy, as in the suspension system of vehicles.2. A small stream of water flowing naturally from the earth.3. The season of the year between winter and summer, during which the weather becomes warmer and plants revive. In the Northern Hemisphere, it extends from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Spring a group of animals or birds flushed from their covert; a flow of water or similar flow; a copse or grove of young trees; young shoots or new growth.Examples: spring of blood, 1596; of honour, 1509; of all my joys, 1709; of oaks; of plants, 1601; of roses, 1667; of talk, 1818; of teal, 1450; of thoughts, 1892; of waters of grace, 1440; of wood, 1483.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.springSpring is the season between winter and summer.If you want to say that something happens every year during this season, you say that it happens in spring or in the spring.Be Careful!Don’t say that something happens ‘in the springs’ or ‘in springs’.