springs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of spring.

   The mechanic replaced the worn springs in the car's suspension.

   Travelers come from far away to bathe in the natural hot springs.

   Note

   The plural only fits where spring can be counted. Seasons counted one by one take it, as in several springs passed. The uncountable season of "in spring" has no plural, and neither does the figurative early stage of a process. The political sense, a period of liberalization, pluralizes freely, since a country may live through more than one such spring. The leap counts like any jump.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of spring.

   The dancer springs into the air at the climax of the routine.

   A fresh idea springs to mind whenever she walks by the river.

   Note

   Every meaning this form carries is intransitive, so springs never takes a direct object. What follows it is a direction or a source: springs into the air, springs to mind, springs from an old grievance. The figurative "come into existence" use keeps the same shape, as in a doubt springs from a rumor. In UK dialect it can also mean "matures," a regional use best kept to regional speech.

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