sprout

noun

1. 1

   A new growth of or on a plant, whether from seed or other parts.

2. 2

   A germinated seed, an incipient young plant.

   Near-synonyms: seedling, chit

3. 3

   A germinated seed, an incipient young plant. An edible variety of such, grown and intended as food; examples include bean, alfalfa, kale, and others.

4. 4

   A germinated seed, an incipient young plant. An edible variety of such, grown and intended as food; examples include bean, alfalfa, kale, and others. A bean sprout.

5. 5

   figurativeA child.

   Oh my, how your sprouts have grown!

6. 6

   A Brussels sprout.

   In our family we only eat sprouts once a year, at Christmas.

verb

1. 1

   To grow from seed; to germinate.

   The crocuses should be sprouting after 2 months, provided they're well tended.

2. 2

   To cause to grow from a seed.

   I sprouted beans and radishes and put them in my salad.

3. 3

   To deprive of sprouts.

   to sprout potatoes

4. 4

   To emerge from the ground as sprouts.

5. 5

   figurativeTo emerge haphazardly from a surface.

   Whiskers sprouted from the old man's chin.

6. 6

   figurativeTo emerge or appear haphazardly.

   A lot of coffee shops have sprouted up in this neighbourhood since the block of flats was put up.

   In those early years of the 1830s and 1840s, railways were sprouting up all over the country in a haphazard way.

Forms

plural

sprouts

past tense

sprouted

past participle

sprouted

present participle

sprouting

third person singular

sprouts