Use spring for the season after winter, especially when referring to weather, growth, school terms, or dates.
Use spring for the season after winter, especially when referring to weather, growth, school terms, or dates.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I love the spring in my mattress. | I love the spring in my mattress. |
| The spring starts in March in the Northern Hemisphere. | Spring starts in March in the Northern Hemisphere. |
| We visited spring last year. | We visited in spring last year. |
Use spring for water that naturally comes out of the ground, not for any well, tap, or stream.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The tap behind the house is a spring. | The water source behind the house is a spring. |
| The spring is warmer after winter. | The spring water is cold. |
| The river's spring came from a pipe. | The river's spring came from the hillside. |
Use spring for a resilient part in a machine or for the bounce that resilience gives to a step, board, or surface.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The metal spring is blooming. | The metal spring is compressed. |
| This wooden block has spring. | This flexible board has spring. |
| The spring broke, so summer came early. | The spring broke, so the latch stopped working. |
Use spring for the leap itself, especially in sport, dance, or animal movement.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The cat's springed was quick. | The cat's spring was quick. |
| He made a spring season over the fence. | He made a spring over the fence. |
| The dancer's spring is a metal coil. | The dancer's spring is a leap. |
Use spring for fast sudden movement, with sprang as the usual past tense and sprung as the past participle.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| She spring to her feet. | She springs to her feet. |
| He springed over the wall. | He sprang over the wall. |
| The door has sprang open. | The door has sprung open. |
Use spring with from, up, or similar context when something begins, grows, or appears from a source.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The idea sprang a meeting. | The idea sprang from a meeting. |
| Flowers springed from the soil. | Flowers sprang from the soil. |
| The rumor spring quickly. | The rumor springs quickly. |
Use spring for sudden release or disclosure, as in spring a trap, spring a surprise, or spring someone from jail.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| They sprang on us a plan. | They sprang a plan on us. |
| He spring the trap. | He springs the trap. |
| She sprang her friend jail. | She sprang her friend from jail. |
Use context to separate nature, mechanics, movement, and figurative uses, and remember sprang for the usual past tense and sprung for the participle.
He spring drops the required -s, and springed is usually wrong where standard English needs sprang or sprung.
From Old English springan, meaning to leap, burst forth, or arise, with noun senses growing from the same idea of something coming out or rebounding.
What does spring mean as a season?
It means the season after winter and before summer, often linked with warmer weather and new growth.
What is a water spring?
A water spring is a place where groundwater naturally flows out of the earth.
What is a mechanical spring?
A mechanical spring is a flexible or coiled part that stores and releases energy by bending, stretching, or compressing.
What does spring mean as a verb?
As a verb, spring means to jump or move suddenly, or to appear or come from a source.
What is the past tense of spring?
The usual past tense is sprang, and the usual past participle is sprung.
Can spring mean a jump?
Yes. A spring can be a quick leap or bound.
What does spring from mean?
Spring from means to originate or come from a source or cause.
What does spring a surprise mean?
It means to reveal or present a surprise suddenly.
What does spring someone from jail mean?
It means to free someone from jail, often in informal or dramatic language.
Is Spring Framework the same entry?
No. Spring Framework is a capitalized software name, while this entry covers the ordinary lowercase word spring.