sprint

1 of 2

verb

ˈsprint 

sprinted; sprinting; sprints

intransitive verb

: to run or go at top speed especially for a short distance

sprinter noun

sprint

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or an instance of sprinting

2

a

: dash sense 3b

b

: a burst of speed

Synonyms of sprint

Verb

• jog
• trot
• run
• race
• gallop
• speed

Examples of sprint in a Sentence

Verb

The bicycle racers sprinted for the finish line.

he sprinted off to class so as to avoid being late

Noun

He made a sprint for the finish line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Fritz started off on the right side, sprinted behind the line to the left and was wide open. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026

Fortes sprinted across the plate with the winning run, then headed toward first to join his jumping teammates in foul territory. — Ronald Blum, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026

Noun

The final sprint before election day capped Murphy’s whirlwind trip to the Middle East at the start of October for meetings with several leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. — Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026

Now SpaceX plans to wind down the Falcon 9 within the next few years to better accommodate the company’s sprint toward using Starship, its fully reusable megarocket meant to spark another even greater spaceflight revolution. — Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English (Scots) sprenten to spring, leap, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialect sprinta to jump, hop; akin to Old High German sprinzan to jump up

First Known Use

Verb

1847, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sprint

• sprint car
• wind sprint

Rhymes for sprint

• clint
• dint
• glint
• hint
• lint
• mint
• print
• quint
• quinte
• splint
• squint
• stint

Kids Definition

sprint

1 of 2 verb

ˈsprint 

: to run at top speed especially for a short distance

sprinter noun

sprint

2 of 2 noun

1

: a short run at top speed

2

: a race over a short distance