sprout

sprout¹ [spraut] v

[: Old English; Origin: sprutan]

1.) [I and T]

if vegetables, seeds, or plants sprout, they start to grow, producing ↑shoots, ↑buds, or leaves

▪ Move the pots outside when the seeds begin to sprout.

▪ Trees were starting to sprout new leaves.

2.) [i]also sprout up

to appear suddenly in large numbers

▪ Office blocks are sprouting up everywhere.

3.) [I and T]

if something such as hair sprouts or if you sprout it, it starts to grow

▪ Jim seemed to have sprouted a beard.

sprout ²

sprout² n

1.) especially BrE a small green vegetable like a very small ↑cabbage

= ↑brussels sprout

2.) a new growth on a plant

= ↑shoot

3.) [usually plural] AmE

an ↑alfalfa seed which has grown a stem and is eaten

4.) [usually plural] AmE

a ↑beansprout