Word.ws English Dictionary

headspring

headspring noun: a fountainhead; a source.

Noun

headspring (plural headsprings)

  1. A fountainhead; a source.
    • Now you can follow the current downstream from the headspring to the Silver River's confluence with the Ocklawaha, rather than beating your way upstream from the Ocklawaha all the way to the headspring.2016, Johnny Molloy, Canoeing & Kayaking Florida, →ISBN
  2. (figuratively) A basis or foundation.
    • Much less can we afford to follow them into the fantastic combination in which they have been sometimes represented as constituting a sort of barbarian headspring to the liberty of civilized men ; to whom politic society is thought to be a means of preserving, in part only, a freedom enjoyed by...1853, Henry Whiting Warner, The Liberties of America, page 236
    • The cradle of new conceptual enterprises and entrepreneurs Soft technology is the headspring for brand new ideas, the growth point for new industries and for new conceptual enterprises.2005, Zhouying Jin, Global Technological Change: From Hard Technology to Soft Technology, →ISBN
  3. A move in which the gymnast places both hands on the mat with the top of the head about 6 inches in front, pushes off with the hands while flipping the legs overhead, and lands on the feet.
    • The technique in continuous headsprings is rather different from that employed in performing a single headspring in that the head and hands are closer together, thus reducing resistance to forward rotation and enabling fast acceleration to take place.1965, Walter G. Dunn, Gymnastics for Schools: Vaulting & Agilities, page 112
    • The headspring is a unique vault because it calls for a bent arm support and the touching of the horse with one's head.1972, Carolyn O. Bowers, Judging and Coaching Women's Gymnastics, page 170
  4. A spring that sits at the top of a mechanism, pushing the internal parts inward.
    • Remove the four screws from bottom of tube, then headspring and bottom assembly can be removed through bottom of tube.1949, Chain Store Age - Volume 25, Issues 1-6, page 28

Verb

headspring (third-person singular simple present headsprings, present participle headspringing, simple past headsprang, past participle headsprung)

  1. To perform a headspring.
    • Cartwheel with quarter-turn (Arabian Spring) ; roll back with closed feet into momentary handstand (back extension) ; front standing balance and with a leap, change the position of the feet; place hands on floor and do a momentary handstand; lie down on the front and rock backwards and forward, and...1966, Laszlo Szabo, Illustrated Physical Education Through Gymnastics, page 31
    • From there I would walk on my head to the far end of the box and then headspring to the floor, landing on my feet.2016, Simon Barnes, Losing It: A lifetime in pursuit of sporting excellence, →ISBN, page 49

Examples of headspring in a sentence

  • If we can say that management philosophy provides is the headspring to tempt people, we can also say that business model would be the sacrifice to motivate people to act.2010, Samuel Kai Wah Chu, Samuel Chu, Waltraut Ritter, Managing Knowledge for Global and Collaborative Innovations, →ISBN:
  • The evidence established that he was negligent in spotting the headspring Steven was attempting to perform.1980, Minnesota reporter - Issues 288-291, page 120:

Forms of headspring

Noun
pluralheadsprings
Verb
third-person singular presentheadsprings
present participleheadspringing
pastheadsprang
past participleheadsprung

Origin of headspring

From Middle English head + spring.

Questions about headspring

What does headspring mean?
Headspring means a fountainhead; a source.
How do you use headspring in a sentence?
If we can say that management philosophy provides is the headspring to tempt people, we can also say that business model would be the sacrifice to motivate people to act.
What part of speech is headspring?
Headspring can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of headspring?
The plural of headspring is headsprings.

Words near headspring in the dictionary

  1. headspin
  2. headspinning
  3. headspinningly
  4. headspins
  5. headsprang
  6. headspring
  7. headspringing
  8. headsprings
  9. headsprung
  10. headsquare
  11. headsquares

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: headspring (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “headspring.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/headspring. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.