sprout
/sprəʊt
/verb [no object]
1(Of a plant) put out shoots: the weeds begin to sprout...
- The two blueberry bushes are sprouting and I've watered them a little bit.
- Some species will sprout right away; others could take a year or more to grow.
- Only a small percentage from each weed species sprouts each year.
Synonyms
germinate, put forth shoots, bud
rare burgeon, vegetate, pullulate
1.1 [with object] Grow (plant shoots or hair): many black cats sprout a few white hairs...
- The spokesman added that many sportsmen sprouted facial hair and wore their hair long in the 1970s.
- She looked at me as if I'd sprouted purple hair.
- Beech is usually quite amenable to hard cutting back, as long as it gets plenty of light it will quickly sprout new shoots from the older wood.
Synonyms
grow, develop;
send forth, put forth
1.2 [no object] (Of a plant, flower, or hair) start to grow; spring up: crocuses sprouted up from the grass...
- With the first rains, leaves sprout on trees and bushes and the savannah grass grows to several yards within a few months.
- The leafy stems sprout from the underground tuberous roots in early spring.
- Wild plants and flowers sprouted all over the place, creeping up the trees.
Synonyms
spring up, shoot up, come up, grow, burgeon, develop, appear, mushroom, proliferate
1.3 [no object] Appear or develop suddenly and in large numbers: plush new hotels are sprouting up everywhere...
- Across the country, smarter, better-planned, more walkable developments are sprouting up without sprawling out.
- There is no way they can keep investment excitement from sprouting up all over the world.
- Becoming an industry leader requires more than sprouting locations across the country.
noun
1A shoot of a plant: the flower pots are full of green sprouts...
- When buying garlic, look for firm heads with papery skins, and avoid any with green sprouts.
- From the ground, green sprouts start to appear through the cracks in the brickwork.
- It's as easy to grow as green onions - just push the cloves down into the soil and in a few weeks, you'll have sprouts poking through.
1.1 (sprouts) Young shoots, especially of alfalfa, mung beans, or soybeans, eaten as a vegetable.Foods that can become contaminated with Salmonella include raw or undercooked meats, unpasteurized milk, raw or lightly cooked eggs and alfalfa sprouts....
- Using alfalfa sprouts to relieve hot flashes is a successful folk remedy from New Mexico.
- Add the parsley, sunflower sprouts, bell pepper, and romaine lettuce; toss to coat, season, and set aside.
2 short for Brussels sprout.My colleague selected honey-glazed pork in garlic, together with roast potatoes, sprouts and diced swede....
- I love very basic vegetables like potatoes and broccoli and asparagus and sprouts.
- Check winter vegetables, particularly sprouts, cabbage and broccoli for signs of black aphids.
Origin
Middle English: of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch spruiten and German spriessen.