sprout

[sprout]

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.

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

/ 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

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 verb (used without object)
• unsprouted adjective
• unsprouting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sprout¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sprout¹

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

Example Sentences

Teams and leagues sprouted within the camps, an arrangement described by one player as “baseball behind barbed wire.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Experts at Crab Museum in Margate say they now have people come in "every day" questioning if humans really will end up sprouting claws.

Read more on BBC

It attaches to muscles controlling the jaw and finally, erupts through the surface of the skin and sprouts teeth.

Read more on Science Daily

Then, as they sprout, a portion is cut and planted in potted mineral-rich soil in the greenhouse.

Read more on Barron's

Industrial-scale scam compounds have sprouted across Southeast Asia, and Cambodia has become one of the epicenters.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burgeon 
• germinate 
• grow