sprinting

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of sprint.

   She kept sprinting until the finish line was behind her.

   Two riders broke away, sprinting for the line in the final kilometer.

   Note

   Nothing doubles here: sprint already ends in two consonants, so -ing simply attaches. As a participle it builds progressive tenses and opening phrases (sprinting for the bus, he dropped his phone). It can also take the distance as an object, as in sprinting the last lap, while for marks the goal: sprinting for the line.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act of running, cycling, or otherwise moving at top speed for a short time.

   The coach praised the explosive sprinting of the young winger.

   The workout mixes short bursts of sprinting with slow jogging.

   Note

   Besides naming the activity in general, the noun can be counted. Alex Comfort's The Almond Tree (1942) has "sprintings of feet overhead along the deck", and the plural turns one sound into a run of separate, hurried dashes. For training or sport the uncountable form is the natural choice: short bursts of sprinting.

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