sprout

[ sprout ]
See synonyms for: sproutsprouting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to begin to grow; shoot forth, as a plant from a seed.

  2. (of a seed or plant) to put forth buds or shoots.

  1. to develop or grow quickly: a boy awkwardly sprouting into manhood.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to sprout.

  2. to remove sprouts from: Sprout and boil the potatoes.

noun
  1. a shoot of a plant.

  2. a new growth from a germinating seed, or from a rootstock, tuber, bud, or the like.

  1. something resembling or suggesting a sprout, as in growth.

  2. a young person; youth.

  3. sprouts,

    • the young shoots of alfalfa, soybeans, etc., eaten as a raw vegetable.

Origin of sprout

1
1150–1200; (v.) Middle English spr(o)uten,Old English -sprūtan, in āsproten (past participle; see a-3); cognate with Middle Dutch sprūten,German spriessen to sprout; akin to Greek speírein to scatter; (noun) Middle English; compare Middle Dutch, Middle Low German sprute

Other words for sprout

Other words from sprout

  • non·sprout·ing, adjective
  • re·sprout, verb
  • un·der·sprout, noun
  • un·der·sprout, verb (used without object)
  • un·sprout·ed, adjective
  • un·sprout·ing, adjective

Words Nearby sprout

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sprout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sprout

sprout

/ (spraʊt) /


verb
  1. (of a plant, seed, etc) to produce (new leaves, shoots, etc)

  2. (intr often foll by up) to begin to grow or develop: new office blocks are sprouting up all over the city

noun
  1. a newly grown shoot or bud

  2. something that grows like a sprout

Origin of sprout

1
Old English sprūtan; related to Middle High German sprūzen to sprout, Lettish sprausties to jostle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012