I. spur 1 /spɜː $ spɜːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: spura ]
1 . on the spur of the moment suddenly, without any previous planning or thought:
We would often decide what to play on the spur of the moment.
⇨ ↑ spur-of-the-moment
2 . a fact or event that makes you try harder to do something
spur to
It provided the spur to further research.
The crowd’s reaction only acted as a spur.
3 . a sharp pointed object on the heel of a rider’s boot which is used to encourage a horse to go faster
4 . earn/win your spurs to show that you deserve to succeed because you have the right skills
5 . a piece of high ground which sticks out from the side of a hill or mountain
6 . a railway track or road that goes away from a main line or road
II. spur 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle spurred , present participle spurring )
1 . [transitive] ( also spur somebody on ) to encourage someone or make them want to do something:
The band were spurred on by the success of their last two singles.
spur somebody (on) to do something
His misfortunes spurred him to write.
spur somebody (on) to something
the coach who spurred him on to Olympic success
It was an article in the local newspaper which finally spurred him into action.
2 . [transitive] to make an improvement or change happen faster SYN encourage :
Lower taxes would spur investment and help economic growth.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to encourage a horse to go faster, especially by pushing it with special points on the heels of your boots