mainspring
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.
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
This was the mainspring of the anti-liberal revolt in the region.
From The Guardian • Oct. 24, 2019
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
For Mailer, the mainspring of connection was personal, was face time; for all his intellectual energy and imaginative invention, Mailer was the bard of immediacy.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 10, 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
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
