spur
noun
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Definition of spur
(Entry 1 of 2)
spur
verbDefinition of spur (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for spur
Synonyms: Noun
boost, encouragement, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, incitation, incitement, instigation, momentum, motivation, provocation, stimulant, stimulus, yeast
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Noun
counterincentive, disincentive
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Examples of spur in a Sentence
Noun
the threat of losing its only sports franchise was the spur the city council needed to finally do something about the rising crime rate a weak wall that might need a spurVerb
The reward spurred them to work harder. Lower interest rates should spur economic growth. He spurred the horse onward.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Though technically a part of the spur, maintenance of the portion past the Louisiana exit falls to the city of Houston. — Dug Begley, Houston Chronicle, "Spur 527 exit to Brazos Street closing for repairs," 1 July 2019 Fun fact: the distillation column of Etheridge’s 2,000-gallon still is made from the recycled metal of a rail spur salvaged from the Warehouse District. — Phillip Valys, sun-sentinel.com, "Warehouse District: How West Palm Beach’s newest nightlife village found suds, spirits and ‘soul’," 6 June 2019 Back in the mists of evolution, the spurs were legs, and pythons’ ancestors walked on all fours. — Gena Steffens, Smithsonian, "The Snakes That Ate Florida," 11 July 2019 The researchers played down the observation that the spurs were also common in those over 60. — Faye Flam, Twin Cities, "Faye Flam: Some things are scary. ‘Horns’ from smartphone use aren’t.," 6 July 2019 The bad news is, the spurs are growing at the back of the skull. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "Cell Phones Might Be Causing Horns to Grow on Young People's Skulls," 20 June 2019 For any of that to happen, the spur-of-the-moment uprising will have to become more organized. — Ana Campoy, Quartz, "What’s next for Puerto Rico?," 25 July 2019 The ongoing Japan-U.S. trade negotiations should strengthen relations and spur even greater economic development in both countries. — Nobuyuki Hirano, Fortune, "How Japan Became a Model for Economic Revival," 18 July 2019 The shows: Reflecting the spontaneous nature of the music, Dylan insisted that shows be announced spur-of-the-moment style, with little or no formal advertising, relying instead on handbills distributed perhaps a few days before each show. — Randy Lewis, latimes.com, "Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue: A user's guide," 7 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The goal is to use this vast dataset in order to better understand what affects health for people of different races, genders, and geographic locations - and, in the process, help spur the development of personalized medicine. — Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, "This Company Will Provide Genetic Counseling for a Million-Person NIH Study," 21 Aug. 2019 That has helped spur the scrutiny by the government officials. — Steve Lohr, New York Times, "How Should Big Tech Be Reined In? Here Are 4 Prominent Ideas," 20 Aug. 2019 His budget included a record $1 billion for homelessness and $1.75 billion to help spur housing production and planning through loans, tax credits and other incentives. — Joe Garofoli, SFChronicle.com, "Gig-worker bill: Gavin Newsom keeps his distance from California’s big fight," 15 Aug. 2019 Thomas said the $25 or $50 stipends is helping to spur youths to act, but also to feel more ownership of their community. — Scott Dance, baltimoresun.com, "As Baltimore welcomes Trump-inspired trash collectors, residents seek lasting solutions," 15 Aug. 2019 Maier said some historians have speculated that the possibility of the Soviet Union's entry into the war helped spur the decision to bring the war to a quick end by using the bomb. — Ryan Browne, CNN, "Why the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 74 years ago today," 6 Aug. 2019 At Wilderness Rim, these findings helped to spur change. — Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times, "As wildfire risk grows west of Cascades, homeowners urged to better protect their homes," 30 July 2019 Her eight children’s books (published in the 1930s and '40s) have sold 60 million copies and spurred an entire chunk of the American culture pie: a beloved TV series, pageants, plays, musicals, cookbooks, and more. — Elena Nicolaou, refinery29.com, "Little House, Big Fans: These People Really, Really Love Laura Ingalls Wilder," 24 Aug. 2019 Her seventh album Lover was released at midnight on Friday, spurring hundreds of thousands of excited fan tweets about the singer’s newest creative direction. — Marcus Jones, EW.com, "A track-by-track breakdown of Taylor Swift's new album Lover," 23 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.