What does "spur" mean?
A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the cowboy or the knight.
Spur
/spɜː/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the cowboy or the knight.
- Grammar: spur is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: goad, prod, abet, acantha.
- Useful contrasts: basin, deter, deterrent.
- Usage evidence: More money for education will spur economic growth.
How to use "spur"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spur" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spur" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spur" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spur" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spur" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "goad" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spur", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the cowboy or the knight.
"Lives he, good uncle? thrice within this hour I saw him down; thrice up again, and fighting; From helmet to the spur all blood he was."
- 2 A tern.
- 3 A spurious tone, one that interferes with a signal in a circuit and is often masked underneath that signal.
- 4 The track of an animal, such as an otter; a spoor.
- 5 someone connected with Tottenham Hotspur FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.
Show 23 more definitions
- 6 a railway line connected to a trunk line wordnet
- 7 A jab given with the spurs.
"I had hardly said the word, when Kit jumped into the saddle, and gave his horse a whip and a spur — and off it cantered, as if it were in as great a hurry to be married as Kit himself."
- 8 a sharp prod fixed to a rider's heel and used to urge a horse onward wordnet
- 9 Anything that inspires or motivates, as a spur does a horse. figuratively
"She is a theame of honour and renowne, / A ſpurre to valiant and magnanimous deeds, / Whoſe preſent courage may beate downe our foes, / And fame in time to come canonize us, [...]"
- 10 a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something wordnet
- 11 An appendage or spike pointing rearward, near the foot, for instance that of a rooster.
- 12 tubular extension at the base of the corolla in some flowers wordnet
- 13 Any protruding part connected at one end, for instance a highway that extends from another highway into a city.
- 14 any sharply pointed projection wordnet
- 15 Roots, tree roots.
"[…] the strong-bas'd promontory / Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up / The pine and cedar […]"
- 16 A mountain that shoots from another mountain or range and extends some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles.
- 17 A spiked iron worn by seamen upon the bottom of the boot, to enable them to stand upon the carcass of a whale to strip off the blubber.
- 18 A brace strengthening a post and some connected part, such as a rafter or crossbeam; a strut.
- 19 The short wooden buttress of a post.
- 20 A projection from the round base of a column, occupying the angle of a square plinth upon which the base rests, or bringing the bottom bed of the base to a nearly square form. It is generally carved in leafage.
- 21 Ergotized rye or other grain.
- 22 A wall in a fortification that crosses a part of a rampart and joins to an inner wall.
- 23 A piece of timber fixed on the bilgeways before launching, having the upper ends bolted to the vessel's side.
- 24 A curved piece of timber serving as a half to support the deck where a whole beam cannot be placed.
- 25 A branch of a vein.
- 26 A very short branch line of a railway line.
- 27 A short branch road of a motorway, freeway or major road.
- 28 A short thin side shoot from a branch, especially one that bears fruit or, in conifers, the shoots that bear the leaves.
Verb
- 1 To prod (especially a horse) on the side or flank, with the intent to urge motion or haste, to gig. transitive
"Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head! Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood; Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!"
- 2 Alternative form of speer. alt-of, alternative, dialectal, obsolete
"I haue yonder vncouered a faire girle, Ile be ſo bolde as ſpurre her, vvhat might a bodie call her name?"
- 3 goad with spurs wordnet
- 4 To urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object transitive
"My desire / (More sharp than filed steel) did spur me forth..."
- 5 equip with spurs wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To put spurs on. transitive
"to spur boots"
- 7 strike with a spur wordnet
- 8 To press forward; to travel in great haste. intransitive
- 9 give heart or courage to wordnet
- 10 To form a spur (senses 17-18 of the noun)
"It spurs off the Robin Hood line, providing ten miles of single-line test track with a three-mile double section, capable of testing up to 75mph."
- 11 incite or stimulate wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 An occupational surname from Middle English
Antonyms
Example
"More money for education will spur economic growth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spur"?
Common synonyms include: goad, prod, abet, acantha, accelerate, accelerate.
How do you use "spur" in a sentence?
More money for education will spur economic growth.
How do you pronounce "spur"?
Pronounced /spɜː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English spure, spore, from Old English spora, spura, from Proto-West Germanic *spurō, from Proto-Germanic *spurô, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH- (“to kick”).
Etymology 2
See sparrow.
Etymology 3
Short for spurious.
Etymology 4
English surname, variant of Spurr. Compare the noun spur.