wellspring

noun

well·​spring ˈwel-ˌspriŋ 

: a source of continual supply

a wellspring of information

Synonyms of wellspring

• source
• cradle
• fountain

Examples of wellspring in a Sentence

The tour guide was a wellspring of information.

the nation's colleges and universities were a wellspring for political activism and unrest

Recent Examples on the Web

The presence of peacekeepers in eastern Congo can seem like the U.N.’s way of apologizing for failing to halt the Rwandan genocide, a singularly brutal conflict that is the wellspring of the current violence in the region. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

There’s a hole in Newsom’s fundraising web: Silicon Valley. Tech leaders, long a wellspring of Democratic support, have increasingly backed Trump. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2025

The first biography of James Schuyler suggests that his tendency to withdraw was both a harbinger of his disabling mood disorder and the wellspring of his shimmering poetry. —Langdon Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 30 Oct. 2025

And its representatives are talking a big game about making the country a wellspring of world-class AI companies. —Phil Wahba, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wellspring

• bowstring
• coiling
• downswing
• drawstring
• forewing
• hamstring
• lapwing
• mainspring
• offspring
• plaything
• shoestring
• texting

Kids Definition

wellspring

noun

well·​spring ˈwel-ˌspriŋ 

1

: a source of continual supply

2

: fountainhead sense 1