to spring
209
2.5
- verb
- /sprɪŋ/
- Everywhere, shanty villages had sprung up; people dwelling in the rubble of their past lives.
- spring to mind
- spring to life
- settlements spring up
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Watch on YouTubeLet me just say that the words mafia springs to mind at times, right?
- Let me just say that the words mafia springs to mind at times, right?
- I'm OK with pregnant characters, but like, don't spring it on me, OK?
- Then last week, the plaintiff's lawyer sprang a surprise.
- It hasn't yet happened, but, but hope springs eternal.
- That's the little flame from which hope springs.
- And those of us who speak English as a primary language of hope springs eternal.
- I think that the evidence of geographical distribution is one that doesn't first spring to mind, but is an important one.
- There are materials that will stand washing, others that won't, spots that can be removed, others that persist, objects that break all by themselves, dust that spring up by like plants.
- Otherwise you don't have, you know, a tableau to write from experiences, the juice from which everything else springs.
Examples
-
By now, prairie restoration is so successful that prairie projects are springing up all across the Midwest.
Academic text (1993) -
Surprises spring up when you least expect them.
-
So all of these, all of these new techniques sort of spring from that tradition.
-
We'll be sure to let you know if anything else springs to mind.
-
There are tent cities springing up all over the country.
-
Colleges don't just spring up out of the ground overnight.
-
The flowers spring to life each year as spring arrives.
-
New ideas often spring from interesting discussions and debates.
Synonyms
827
2.0
To make something open or appear quickly
584
3.0
To appear or arrive when you do not expect it
532
3.1
Suddenly have an idea or memory
419
4.0
To become known or start to exist, for example as an idea
336
2.4
Come into someone's mind suddenly or unexpectedly
117
1.9
Enter or appear suddenly with energy
50
1.0
To move or start suddenly because you are surprised
49
3.3
To appear quickly in a place, often as new shops or cafes
41
2.9
To appear suddenly without warning
29
3.1
To jump out suddenly from a hiding place to surprise someone
29
4.3
To appear suddenly, often as a problem or question
23
4.2
Appear from a place, often suddenly
23
3.4
Start suddenly and appear or happen quickly
7
5.4
Suddenly start to happen with a lot of energy
2
6.1
Suddenly appear in a place or in someone's mind and surprise people
1
9.9
To begin suddenly in the mind as an idea or feeling
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
6
4.9
An energetic way of walking that shows happiness or confidence
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
39
3.0
Practice and games in spring for baseball teams before the regular season starts
11
2.5
A small fried snack filled with vegetables and sometimes meat, often served as an appetizer
- Informal
6
6.7
A young person who has little experience, sometimes used with no to say someone is not young
2
4.3
A time in early spring when day and night are about the same length, around March 21 in the north
- Specialized
1
3.9
A long metal wire shaped into a spiral that pushes back to absorb shock in cars or mattresses
1
2.0
A bed surface filled with metal springs that supports your body while you sleep
1
9.0
A small North American tree frog that makes a very high, thin call near ponds in spring
- Specialized
1
5.3
A part that uses compressed air to absorb bumps and vibrations in vehicles and machines
- Specialized
1
4.3
A small tool that measures weight or force by how much a metal coil stretches
1
3.9
Time in spring when pollen is high and many people sneeze or have itchy eyes
1
7.8
A small North American plant with two thick leaves, pink or white flowers, and a small edible underground bulb
- Specialized
1
4.9
A small green or brown animal that lives near ponds and wet places and croaks
- NSFW
1
9.2
A hidden device set to shoot as a trap when someone touches or moves something near it
- UK
1
8.9
A climbing or bushy plant with purple-blue flowers grown to feed animals and make soil richer
- Specialized
1
4.9
A wire coiled into a spiral that stores and releases energy to make things turn
A small plant with slender leaves and pink flowers that blooms in early spring
A small secret pocket with a spring that holds small valuable items inside clothing
- Specialized
A tool that measures weight using a metal spring and shows it on a scale
- Specialized
A caterpillar that eats leaves from trees like elm and maple in early spring
- Specialized
A small plant with curved prickly stems that stick to clothes and animal fur
A small bushy plant with violet-blue flowers like a pea that blooms in spring
A small wild plant that comes back every year with low thick leaves and small white flowers with pink edges
How Suddenly
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spring meaning to appear or happen suddenly comes from the same root meaning 'to burst out' or 'rise up'. So when a problem or event 'springs up', it is like something that suddenly bursts into view.