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PlainSpell

spur

/spɝ/noun, verb

spur is spelled S-P-U-R: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spur means “A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spur is spurs.

How many letters and syllables are in spur?

Letters4: S-P-U-R
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is spur?

Spur appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce spur?

  • UK /spɜː/
  • US /spɝ/
  • /spʌr/

Spur has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-spur.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with spur

Also written: speer.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with spur?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as spur from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of spur

  • spurs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • spurring participle, present
  • spurred participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does spur mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A rigid implement, often roughly y-shaped, that is fixed to one's heel for the purpose of prodding a horse. Often worn by, and emblematic of, the cowboy or the knight.

  2. 2

    A jab given with the spurs.

  3. 3

    Anything that inspires or motivates, as a spur does a horse.

  4. 4

    An appendage or spike pointing rearward, near the foot, for instance that of a rooster.

  5. 5

    Any protruding part connected at one end, for instance a highway that extends from another highway into a city.

  6. 6

    Roots, tree roots.

  7. 7

    A mountain that shoots from another mountain or range and extends some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles.

  8. 8

    A spiked iron worn by seamen upon the bottom of the boot, to enable them to stand upon the carcass of a whale to strip off the blubber.

  9. 9

    A tern.

  10. 10

    A spurious tone, one that interferes with a signal in a circuit and is often masked underneath that signal.

  11. 11

    The track of an animal, such as an otter; a spoor.

verb

  1. 1

    To prod (especially a horse) on the side or flank, with the intent to urge motion or haste, to gig.

  2. 2

    To urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object

  3. 3

    To put spurs on.

    to spur boots

  4. 4

    To press forward; to travel in great haste.

  5. 5

    To form a spur (senses 17-18 of the noun)

noun

as Spur
  1. 1

    someone connected with Tottenham Hotspur FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate spur?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of spur: sp.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Spur in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchéperon (implement for prodding a horse), ergot (appendage near the foot), embranchement (any protruding part), éperonner (to prod), stimuler (to urge or encourage to action)
GermanSporn (implement for prodding a horse), die Sporen geben (to prod), anspornen (to urge or encourage to action), Ansporn (anything that inspires or motivates), Eckblatt (architecture: projection from the round base of…), mit Sporen versehen (to put spurs on)
Portugueseespora (implement for prodding a horse), conexão, prolongamento (any protruding part), esporar (to prod), instigar, provocar (to urge or encourage to action)
Spanishespuela, acicate, espolín, chocoyas, espolón (implement for prodding a horse), espolazo (jab given with the spurs)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does spur come from?

From Middle English spure, spore, from Old English spora, spura, from Proto-West Germanic *spurō, from Proto-Germanic *spurô, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH- (“to kick”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after spur