n. | 1. | (Zool.) A sparrow. |
| 1. | An implement secured to the heel, or above the heel, of a horseman, to urge the horse by its pressure. Modern spurs have a small wheel, or rowel, with short points. Spurs were the badge of knighthood. |
| 2. | That which goads to action; an incitement. |
| 3. | Something that projects; a snag. |
| 4. | One of the large or principal roots of a tree. |
| 5. | (Zool.) Any stiff, sharp spine, as on the wings and legs of certain birds, on the legs of insects, etc.; especially, the spine on a cock's leg. |
| 6. | A mountain that shoots from any other mountain, or range of mountains, and extends to some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles. |
| 7. | 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. |
| 8. | (Carp.) A brace strengthening a post and some connected part, as a rafter or crossbeam; a strut. |
| 9. | (Arch.) The short wooden buttress of a post. |
| 10. | (Bot.) Any projecting appendage of a flower looking like a spur. |
| 11. | (Fort.) A wall that crosses a part of a rampart and joins to an inner wall. |
| 12. | (Shipbuilding) A piece of timber fixed on the bilge ways before launching, having the upper ends bolted to the vessel's side. |
| 13. | (Mining) A branch of a vein. |
| 14. | The track of an animal, as an otter; a spoor. |
v. t. | 1. | To prick with spurs; to incite to a more hasty pace; to urge or goad; as, to spur a horse. |
| 2. | To urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object; to incite; to stimulate; to instigate; to impel; to drive. |
| 3. | To put spurs on; as, a spurred boot. |
v. i. | 1. | To spur on one's horse; to travel with great expedition; to hasten; hence, to press forward in any pursuit. |