ENGLISH
REFERENCE

spur

v.
C1 Advanced US //ˈspɝ// UK //spˈɜː// spur Archaic Dialect

v. to encourage someone to do something or to make a process happen faster. You use this when an action or event gives someone the push they need to start moving.

v. to provide an incentive or stimulus that encourages a particular action or accelerated development. Often describes the relationship between an external event and a subsequent increase in activity.


SIMPLE

The lower interest rates will spur more people to buy homes.

CONTEXTUAL

The government hopes that the new tax breaks will spur investment in green energy projects across the country.

COMPLEX

The sudden arrival of a well-funded competitor served to spur the research team into a period of unprecedented productivity, resulting in three new patents within a single quarter.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and frequently takes the pattern 'spur someone to/into something'.

Pitfall

The news spurred for him to actThe news spurred him to actSpur is a transitive verb and should be followed directly by the object, not a preposition like 'for'.

Idioms1 entry

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