a noun [sing.] 1 = sprinkling: Add a sprinkle of
cheese and serve. 5S&, 2 (especially NAmE)
light rain /Mo: We’ve only had a few
sprinkles (of rain) recently.
sprinkler /'sprir)kla(r)/ noun 1 a device with holes in that
is used to spray water in drops on plants, soil or grass tR f§ ; nff M #| 2 a device inside a
building which automatically sprays out water if there is a rise in temperature
because of a fire ( ^
m, s^i
sprin kles /'sprirjklz/ noun [pi.] {NAmE) = hundreds AND THOUSANDS
sprinkling /'sprirjkliri/ (also sprin-kle) noun a small amount of a substance that is dropped
somewhere, or a number of things or people that are spread or included
somewhere AM ( ) ; Affc
) : Add a sprinkling of pepper, ft—0
Most were men, but there was also a sprinkling of young women. A, A MM.
sprint /sprint/ verb, noun m verb to run or swim a short distance very fast
: [V,
usually +adv./prep.] He sprinted for the line. ft[ft^/£ftffiA0 0 Three runners sprinted past. AI0ST MAo 0 She
jumped out
of the car and sprinted for the front door. ft
T ^, M 0 [VN] I sprinted the last few metres.
a noun 1 a race in which the people taking part
run, swim, etc. very fast over a short distance bkf$;
a 100-metre sprint * 100 AMI® o the world
sprint champion —picture o page
R32 2 [usually sing.] a short period of running,
swimming, etc. very fast M
$|J: a
sprint for the line ft ft-iC ft ft M 0 a sprint for the bus ftffi-^^AA o She won in
a sprint finish. ft/E ► sprint er noun
sprite /sprait/ noun (in stories) a small
creature with magic powers, especially one that likes playing tricks
(tewitt) /jvfiiiik am
spritz /sprits/ verb [VN] (especially NAmE) to spray very small drops of liquid on
sth quickly ^: Lightly spritz your hair with water. %ftA
^ i: $£ $£ A 0 ► spritz
noun
spritzer /‘sprits0(r)/ noun a drink made with wine (usually white) mixed with either soda water or sparkling mineral water (= with bubbles in it) AM: a white
wine spritzer — filial AM sprocket /'sprokit; NAmE 'spraikit/ noun 1 (also 'sprocket wheel) a wheel with a row of teeth around the edge that
connect with the holes of a bicycle chain or with holes in a film, etc. in
order to turn it Ef #5 —
picture o cogwheel 2 one of the
teeth on such a wheel — picture
c> cogwheel
sprog /sprog; NAmE spraig/ noun {BrE, informal, humorous) a child or baby /M; ^JL sprout /spraut/ verb, noun
a verb 1 [V]
(of plants or seeds $6 ft # 7) to
produce new leaves or buds; to
start to grow £ ; ft %; ft
&;• Mj£: new leaves sprouting from the trees fftffrlft
0 The seeds will sprout in a few days.
2
to appear; to develop sth, especially in large numbers
tbJjjl; / ) MISM: [V] Hundreds of
mushrooms had sprouted up overnight. —la] A tb A O [VN] The town has sprouted shopping malls, discos
and nightclubs in recent years, M ifi: /l ¥,
4 to
start to grow sth; to start to grow on sb/sth
-fc ih ( M: )■; ( M fid: [VN] Tim has sprouted a beard
since we last saw him. $cf ]
i: JfcJ&PJ $ ft UJ If, lilftAM 0 [V] Hair sprouted from his chest. ftl&Jmf-fctii
7€o
* noun 1 = Brussels sprout 2 a new part growing on a
plant ft; m;
spruce /spruis/ noun, verb, adj.
m noun 1 [C, U] an evergreen forest tree with leaves like
needles 7;^ 2 [U] the soft wood of the spruce,
used, for example, in making paper
a verb .spruce up | spruce sb/sth/yourself<->
'up to make sb/sth/yourself
clean and neat fjifr] ft- ft ft M ft: She spruced up for the
interview. ft A # jJO ffi M fT T — H 6 0 The
city is sprucing up its museums and galleries. g tt.
a adj. (of people or places Aft&hJjJf.) neat
and clean in appearance HgftlHj
spruit /spreit/ noun {SAfrE) a stream,
sometimes one that only flows when there has been a lot of rain ( H f£ M
JcM ) /Jvftjt, ;m
sprung /sprAr)/ adj. fitted with metal
springs W ; #ft'%-S5 : a sprung mattress #f Si — see also SPRING,
SPRANG, SPRUNG V.
spry /sprai/ adj. = sprightly
spud /spAd/ noun (especially BrE,
informal) a potato ±§ spume /spjuim/ noun [u] (literary) the mass of
white bubbles that forms in waves when the sea is rough/ (
cm FOAM
spun pp of SPIN
spunk /spArjk/ noun 1 [U] (informal)
courage; determination MH; Ififi; 2 [U] {BrE, taboo, slang) = semen
3
[C] {informal, AustralE, informal) a sexually
attractive person fti&ftjA
spunky /'spAqki/ adj. {informal) 1 brave
and determined; full of enthusiasm SfrAAftfrA
She is bright, tough and spunky.
Afto 2
{AustralE, informal) sexually attractive :
a top babe with a spunky boyfriend
.spun
'sugar noun [U] long strings of sugar,
used to make decorations for food and to make candyfloss
mm (\
spur /sp3i(r)/ noun, verb
a noun 1 a
sharp pointed object that riders sometimes wear on the heels of their boots and
use to encourage their horse to go faster 3,$iJ; 2 [usually sing.] ~ (to
sth) a fact or an event that
makes you want to do sth better or more quickly H$£; MB’, M$C, M.U HTfl motivation : His speech was a powerful spur to
action. ft (Hi iff ft W tfc db h o 3 an area of high ground that sticks out from a
mountain or hill 111 njt; A ; A
4
a road or a railway/railroad track that leads from the
main road or line ( ^l&ftflciM ) Sift UTTI on
the .spur of the 'moment suddenly, without planning
in advance — 7'ifllA^: I
phoned him up
on the spur of the moment, RAOzft, in'fttTT
0 a spur-of-the-moment
decision -k ft A M ft A aE win/ earn your 'spurs {formal) to achieve fame or success
wmm-
a verb ( rr ) [VN]
1 ~ sb/sth (on) (to sth/to do sth) to
encourage sb to do sth or to encourage them to try
harder to achieve sth $?IS; $]#; Her
difficult childhood spurred her on to succeed. ftftA
WS 0 I was spurred into action by the letter. ft
M Mb ft ^ A 0 0 The band has been spurred on by the
success of their last single, ftifi — ^#- ffi Pi Er W ft Tj] ^ fc (5A $ f i] ^
$$ o 2 to make
sth happen faster or sooner ft j®, ft if, $||$fc
( ) : The
agreement is essential to spurring economic growth
around the world.
^ ^ W o 3 to encourage a horse to go
faster, espe
cially by pushing the spurs on your boots into
its side n (n ) |M; (
Aftffis,#!]) ft ( s,) ft}£ spuri ous /'spjuarias; NAmE ’spjur-/
adj. 1 false, although seeming to be genuine 0 jg ft ; ft ft ffi : He
had managed to create the entirely spurious impression that the company was
thriving. fti&Sfeffoliifti—
2
based on false
ideas or ways of thinking (ftS^A
a spurious argument
►
spuriously adv.
spurn /sp3:n; NAmE sp3irn/ verb [VN]
to reject or refuse sb/sth, especially in a proud way ( X ft ft 'If ft )
PY771 shun:
Eve
spumed Mark’s invitation. P 0
rnTThtiMMiHo o a spumed lover