sprout

American  

[sprout] / spraʊt /

verb (used without object)

1. to begin to grow; shoot forth, as a plant from a seed.

   Synonyms:

   develop, burgeon, bud, spring

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

3. to develop or grow quickly.

   a boy awkwardly sprouting into manhood.

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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.

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

4. a young person; youth.

5. sprouts,

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

   2. Brussels sprout.

sprout British  

/ spraʊt /

verb

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

2. to begin to grow or develop

   new office blocks are sprouting up all over the city

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noun

1. a newly grown shoot or bud

2. something that grows like a sprout

3. See Brussels sprout

Other Word Forms

• nonsprouting adjective
• resprout verb
• undersprout noun
• unsprouted adjective
• unsprouting adjective

Etymology

Origin of sprout

1150–1200; (v.) Middle English spr ( o ) uten, Old English -sprūtan, in āsproten (past participle; 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

Example Sentences

Not even when pigs sprout wings and fly.

From Literature

Even if Nine had been selling the mushrooms with the promise that they’d make toads sprout wings, it wouldn’t matter; for soon, Clare would be gone, Nine’s little mushroom business along with him.

From Literature

She was in elementary school when the war began, and Los Angeles sprouted factories for the war effort and, as we would soon learn, a manufacturer of ugly air.

From Los Angeles Times

Many foreign interpretations of the “SNL” formula have sprouted over the years.

From The Wall Street Journal

This struggle is exactly why so many social clubs have been sprouting up in L.A. over the last few years.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• burgeon
• germinate
• grow