sprout
verb /spraʊt/
/spraʊt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they sprout | /spraʊt/ /spraʊt/ |
| he / she / it sprouts | /spraʊts/ /spraʊts/ |
| past simple sprouted | /ˈspraʊtɪd/ /ˈspraʊtɪd/ |
| past participle sprouted | /ˈspraʊtɪd/ /ˈspraʊtɪd/ |
| -ing form sprouting | /ˈspraʊtɪŋ/ /ˈspraʊtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (of plants or seeds) to produce new leaves or buds; to start to grow
- new leaves sprouting from the trees
- The seeds will sprout in a few days.
- [intransitive, transitive] to appear; to develop something, especially in large numbers
- Hundreds of mushrooms had sprouted up overnight.
- sprout something The town has sprouted shopping malls, discos and nightclubs in recent years.
- [transitive, intransitive] to start to grow something; to start to grow on somebody/something
- sprout something Tim has sprouted a beard since we last saw him.
- I wished I could just sprout wings and fly away.
- sprout from something Hair sprouted from his chest.
Word OriginMiddle English: of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch spruiten and German spriessen.