Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for mainspring. Search instead for hereinsprang.
Definitions

mainspring

[meyn-spring] / ˈmeɪnˌsprɪŋ /












Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The Fountain’s tradition of extending a wide communal embrace, welcoming underrepresented voices and addressing urgent social concerns, is clearly going to be a mainspring of Caldwell’s leadership.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 24, 2025

The mechanisms of the league’s revenue — the television deals that are its mainspring, the creative marketing initiatives, the sponsorships — are driven by the owners, the entrepreneurial dealmakers such as Jones and Bob Kraft.

From Washington Post Nov. 14, 2017

The movie’s ingenious mainspring is the problem of authorship.

From The New Yorker Mar. 18, 2016

If true, Bicep’s detection of gravitational waves would confirm a theory that the universe began with a violent outward antigravitational swoosh known as inflation, the mainspring of Big Bang theorizing for the last three decades.

From New York Times Sep. 22, 2014

“It’s how my father taught me. If I don’t wind it consistently, it won’t keep time as well. And if I overwind it, the mainspring might break.”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training