Word.ws English Dictionary

put spurs to

put spurs to verb: to prod (a mount) with spurs.

Verb

put spurs to (third-person singular simple present puts spurs to, present participle putting spurs to, simple past and past participle put spurs to)

  1. To prod (a mount) with spurs.
    • He would approach the object slowly and cautiously, and, when very near it, would put spurs to his horse and dash by.1884, Hezekiah Butterworth, Zigzag Journeys in Northern Lands, page 48
    • Major Smith describes himself as feeling a little out of place, mounted, as he was, on a government mule. With his command, he put spurs to his animal, and galloped away over rough ground, beyond reach of the dragoons.1888 August, R.W. Young, “The Nauvoo Legion”, in The Contributor, volume 9, number 10, page 369
    Synonyms:
    set spurs to
  2. To prod into greater activity, speed, or diligence.
    • I congratulate you on your memory of what is past, whence I confess that you have put spurs to my almost weary pen.1873, William Stubbs, A Translation of Such Documents as are Untranslated in Dr. Stubbs' Select Charters from the Earliest Times to the Conclusion of Edward the First's Reign, page 121
    • They think this last remark is more likely to put spurs to his Holiness than any other .1899, Great Britain. Public Record Office, Calendar of Letters and State Papers Relating to English Affairs, page 85
  3. To speed up.
    • The greater the danger is, it ought to be so far from being a remora, as to put spurs to our speedy resolutions in this great affair.1763, Debates of the House of Commons from 1667 to 1694, page 18
    • In this regard, it is most important that the Government get its macroeconomic house in order, balance the budget, and put spurs to exports rather than imports.1984, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture, Long-term Farm Policy to Succeed the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, page 94

Examples of put spurs to in a sentence

  • It is needless to say the officer put spurs to his horse to escape the fate of the two-year-old steer before described.1926, Mildred Lewis Rutherford, Miss Rutherford's Scrap Book, page 16:
  • Do these things, and your bargain department will not only earn you money on its own investment, but it will put spurs to every department throughout your store.1906, “The Bargain Counter”, in Notions and Fancy Goods, volume 40, page 49:

Synonyms of put spurs to

  • set spurs to

Forms of put spurs to

third-person singular presentputs spurs to
present participleputting spurs to
past participleput spurs to
pastput spurs to

Questions about put spurs to

What does put spurs to mean?
Put spurs to means to prod (a mount) with spurs.
How do you use put spurs to in a sentence?
It is needless to say the officer put spurs to his horse to escape the fate of the two-year-old steer before described.
What part of speech is put spurs to?
Put spurs to is a verb.
What is the past tense of put spurs to?
The past tense of put spurs to is put spurs to.

Words near put spurs to in the dictionary

  1. put someone's pipe out
  2. put something behind one
  3. put something down to experience
  4. put something into perspective
  5. put something over
  6. put spurs to
  7. put stock in
  8. put store by
  9. put store in
  10. put straight
  11. put that in your hat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: put spurs to (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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