sprout

verb

ˈsprau̇t 

sprouted; sprouting; sprouts

intransitive verb

1

: to grow, spring up, or come forth as or as if a sprout

seeds sprouting in the spring

2

: to send out new growth

3

: to appear suddenly and in large numbers

—often used with up

Restaurants sprouted up all over the city.

transitive verb

: to send forth or up : cause to develop : grow

sprouting hairs

Examples of sprout in a Sentence

seeds sprouting in the spring

Potatoes will sprout in the bag if kept in a warm place.

The garden is sprouting weeds.

The tree is already sprouting leaves.

He sprouted a beard since the last time I saw him.

She dreamed that her boss had sprouted horns.

Hair sprouted on his face.

Recent Examples on the Web

Its muscular stone-and-concrete base seems to sprout from the landscape, while the translucent, cantilevered second floor appears to tiptoe across it atop slender steel columns. —Fred Albert, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026

The former first lady designed a garden, where lettuce and strawberry plants sprouted on a recent day. —ABC News, 4 June 2026

The former first lady designed a garden, where lettuce and strawberry plants are sprouting. —Sophia Tareen, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

In the beginning, use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for the seedlings before switching to one with phosphorus and potassium after the plants have started to sprout. —Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English spruten, from Old English -sprūtan; akin to Old High German spriozan to sprout, Lithuanian sprausti to squeeze, thrust

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing sprout

• Brussels sprout
• water sprout

Rhymes for sprout

• bout
• clout
• doubt
• drought
• flout
• gout
• grout
• kraut
• lout
• out
• pout
• rout

Kids Definition

sprout

1 of 2 verb

ˈsprau̇t 

1

: to grow or spring up as or as if a sprout

2

: to send out new growth

potatoes kept too warm will sprout in the bag

3

: to send forth or up : cause to develop : grow

sprout

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: shoot entry 2 sense 1a

especially : a young shoot (as from a seed or root)

2

plural : edible young shoots especially from recently germinated seeds (as of alfalfa)

Medical Definition

sprout

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈsprau̇t 

: to send out new growth : produce sprouts

vascular endothelial growth factor … has been shown to spur blood vessels to sprout

—Greg Miller

sprout

2 of 2 noun

: a new outgrowth (as of nerve tissue) resembling the young shoot of a plant

segments of the axon above the injury … produce new sprouts

—J. L. Marx