<B>sprinkle, </B>verb, <B>-kled,</B> <B>-kling,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to scatter in drops or tiny bits; strew. <BR> <I>Ex. He sprinkled sand on the icy sidewalk.</I> (SYN) spatter, besprinkle. <DD><B> 2. </B>to spray or cover with small drops or particles. <BR> <I>Ex. She sprinkled the flowers with water.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>to dot or vary with something scattered here and there. <BR> <I>Ex. a countryside sprinkled with farmhouses.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to distribute here and there; disperse. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to scatter something in drops or small particles. <DD><B> 2. </B>to rain a little. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of sprinkling. <BR> <I>Ex. Baptizing the Christian infant with a solemn sprinkle (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a sprinkling; small number or quantity. <BR> <I>Ex. a sprinkle of salt. The cook put a sprinkle of nuts on the cake.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a light rain. </DL>
<A NAME="sprinkler">
<B>sprinkler, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who sprinkles. <DD><B> 2. </B>a device or apparatus for sprinkling water. </DL>
<A NAME="sprinklered">
<B>sprinklered, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> equipped with a sprinkler system. <BR> <I>Ex. a modern, 6 story building, 100 per cent sprinklered.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sprinklerhead">
<B>sprinkler head,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the nozzle of a water sprinkler. </DL>
<A NAME="sprinklersystem">
<B>sprinkler system,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system of pipes with nozzles spaced regularly to carry water, especially as used to spray lawns and orchards or to help control fire by releasing water as the temperature rises. <BR> <I>Ex. Fire departments encourage the use of automatic sprinkler systems (Robert C. Byrns).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sprinkling">
<B>sprinkling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of a person or thing that sprinkles. <BR> <I>Ex. regular sprinkling of a lawn.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a small quantity sprinkled. <BR> <I>Ex. a sprinkling of rain.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a small quantity or number scattered here and there. <BR> <I>Ex. a sprinkling of gray hairs.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a small or slight quantity or amount. <BR> <I>Ex. a sprinkling of knowledge.</I> (SYN) dash. </DL>
<A NAME="sprint">
<B>sprint, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> to run at full speed, especially for a short distance. <BR> <I>Ex. The runners sprinted to the finish line.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a short race at full speed. <BR> <I>Ex. The first of the added-money runs was the $22,725 Autumn Day Handicap, a sprint for fillies and mares (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any short spell of running, rowing, or other exercise, at full speed. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. to finish the job with a sprint of very hard work.</I> noun <B>sprinter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="sprintcar">
<B>sprint car,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a very fast, medium-sized racing car used for races over short distances. </DL>
<A NAME="sprit">
<B>sprit, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small pole running diagonally from the foot of a mast up to the top corner of a fore-and-aft sail, to support and stretch it. </DL>
<B>spritsail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any fore-and-aft sail supported and stretched by a sprit. <BR> <I>Ex. It is beamy, with a rounded bow, and it carries a broad mainsail--spritsail rigged (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="spritzer">
<B>spritzer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a cold drink made with syrup or wine and carbonated water. </DL>
<A NAME="sprocket">
<B>sprocket, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of a set of parts sticking out from the rim of a wheel, arranged to fit into the links of a chain. The sprockets keep the chain from slipping. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=sprocket wheel.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="sprocketless">
<B>sprocketless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> without a sprocket or sprockets. <BR> <I>Ex. New projectors had sprocketless film transport and ... projection, permitting a wide range of projection speeds (Walter Clark).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sprocketwheel">
<B>sprocket wheel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wheel made with sprockets that are arranged to fit into the links of a chain. </DL>
<A NAME="sprog">
<B>sprog, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a green or raw recruit. <BR> <I>Ex. I was twenty-two then--a sprog, as they called the green ones in the air force--and this was to be my first operational mission (James N. Kirk).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a small child; youngster. <BR> <I>Ex. The guilt feelings of the father intensify when the sprog arrives (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sprout">
<B>sprout, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to begin to grow; shoot forth; bud; germinate. <BR> <I>Ex. Buds sprout in the spring. Weeds have sprouted in the garden.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to bring forth or produce shoots or shootlike growths. <BR> <I>Ex. After a shower a meadow sprouts with the yellow buds of the dandelion (Theodore Winthrop).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to shoot forth or develop rapidly or naturally. <BR> <I>Ex. A straggling black moustache sprouted on his upper lip (Robert S. Hichens). Community theatres have sprouted in several cities (Manchester Guardian). Doubts sprout among Federal analysts about summer business prospects (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cause to sprout; produce by sprouting; grow. <BR> <I>Ex. to sprout wings. The rain sprouted the corn.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) to remove sprouts from. <BR> <I>Ex. He sprouted the potatoes twice every winter.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a shoot from a branch, root, or stump of a tree, shrub, or other plant. <DD><B> 2. </B>the young shoot, such as from a germinating seed or from a rhizome or tuber. <BR> <I>Ex. bean sprouts. The gardener was setting out sprouts.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) something like a sprout in appearance, formation, or growth. <BR><I>expr. <B>a course of sprouts.</B> </I>See under <B>course.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>sprouts,</B> </I>Brussels sprouts. <BR> <I>Ex. sprouts served in cream sauce.</I> </DL>
<B>sproutling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a little or young sprout. </DL>
<A NAME="sprouts">
<B>sprouts, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>sprout.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="spruce">
<B>spruce</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of a group of evergreen trees with cones and with needle-shaped leaves arranged spirally around the branches. The spruce belongs to the pine family. It is often used as a Christmas tree in America. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various other coniferous trees, such as the Douglas fir or Douglas spruce, the hemlock spruce, or the balsam spruce. <DD><B> 3. </B>the wood of any of these trees. </DL>
<A NAME="spruce">
<B>spruce</B> (2), adjective, <B>sprucer,</B> <B>sprucest,</B> verb, <B>spruced,</B> <B>sprucing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> smart in appearance; neat; trim. <BR> <I>Ex. He looked very spruce in his new suit. A good-looking man; spruce and dapper and very tidy (Anthony Trollope).</I> (SYN) dapper, jaunty. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make spruce. <BR> <I>Ex. He spruced himself up for dinner. Border posts are to be spruced up with paint and flowers (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become spruce. adv. <B>sprucely.</B> noun <B>spruceness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="sprucebeer">
<B>spruce beer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fermented beverage made from an extract of spruce needles and twigs boiled with molasses or sugar, formerly used especially as a diuretic and antiscorbutic. </DL>
<A NAME="sprucebudworm">
<B>spruce budworm,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the larva of a small, thick-bodied moth that feeds on the bud tips of spruce, fir, and related trees. </DL>
<A NAME="sprucefir">
<B>spruce fir,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a spruce, especially the Norway spruce. </DL>
<A NAME="sprucegrouse">
<B>spruce grouse,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a grouse of the coniferous forests of northern North America; Canada grouse. </DL>
<A NAME="sprucegum">
<B>spruce gum,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a resinous exudation from various spruces and firs, used as a chewing gum, or as an ingredient of chewing gum. </DL>
<B>spruce pine,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various American pines or hemlocks with light, soft wood, such as the black spruce. </DL>
<A NAME="sprue">
<B>sprue</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Metallurgy.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an opening or passage through which molten metal is run into the gate and then into the mold. <DD><B> 2. </B>the waste piece of metal cast in this passage. </DL>
<A NAME="sprue">
<B>sprue</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a chronic disease characterized by emaciation, anemia, inflammation of the mouth, and digestive upsets, occurring especially in tropical countries. <BR> <I>Ex. Many sufferers of sprue and celiac disease, a digestive illness, cannot digest ordinary bread (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=thrush</B> (2) (def. 1). </DL>
<A NAME="spruiker">
<B>spruiker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Australian.) a fluent speaker who urges people to buy a product, see an exhibit, or the like; barker; spieler. </DL>
<A NAME="spruit">
<B>spruit, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small stream or watercourse in South Africa, usually dry except after rain. </DL>
<A NAME="sprung">
<B>sprung, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>verb </I> a past tense and the past participle of <B>spring.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The trap was sprung.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>that has worked loose from a fastening, as a part of a tool. <DD><B> 2. </B>split or cracked, as a mast. <DD><B> 3. </B>bent or warped, as a board. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang.) tipsy or drunk. </DL>
<A NAME="sprungrhythm">
<B>sprung rhythm,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Prosody.) rhythm which has feet that vary greatly in the number of syllables, usually having between one and four, but that always have equal time length, the stress being on the first syllable. It was much used by both Gerard Manley Hopkins and Dylan Thomas. </DL>
<A NAME="spry">
<B>spry, </B>adjective, <B>spryer</B> or <B>sprier,</B> <B>spryest</B> or <B>spriest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> full of health and spirits; lively; nimble; active; brisk. <BR> <I>Ex. The spry old lady traveled all over the country.</I> (SYN) sprightly. adv. <B>spryly.</B> noun <B>spryness.</B> </DL>
