s-p-r-i-n-g
SPRING means the season of renewal, an elastic coil, a water source, or to leap suddenly.
9
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
SPRING embodies multiple concepts of emergence, elasticity, and renewal. As a season, spring marks nature's rebirth after winter - flowers bloom, animals emerge from hibernation, and days grow longer. This season has inspired countless poems, festivals, and cultural celebrations of renewal.
As a mechanical device, a spring stores and releases energy through elastic deformation. From tiny watch springs to massive industrial coils, these simple devices power countless mechanisms. As a water source, springs bubble up from underground, providing fresh water that has sustained civilizations. As a verb, to spring means to leap or move suddenly, capturing quick, energetic motion.
The word's versatility reflects a deeper connection between its meanings: all involve stored potential suddenly released, whether it's nature's dormant energy, mechanical tension, underground water pressure, or muscular power. This makes "spring" a linguistic spring itself, coiled with multiple meanings ready to leap into context.
"Spring" derives from Old English "springan," meaning "to leap, burst forth, grow." The Proto-Germanic "*springan" connects to the Indo-European root "*sprengh-" (to move quickly). The season was originally called "lent" in English, but "spring" (short for "spring of the year" or "spring time") took over by the 16th century, capturing the sense of plants "springing" from the earth. The mechanical spring sense emerged in the 15th century, while spring as water source comes from the notion of water "springing" from the ground.
•6-letter words like SPRING are versatile for creating multiple crosswords
•Knowing uncommon but valid words gives you a significant advantage in word games
•SPRING can often be extended with prefixes or suffixes for even more points
•The earliest spring on record in the UK was 2011, when spring arrived 26 days early due to climate change
""I played SPRING on a triple word score and earned a huge number of points.""
""SPRING is one of those words that can really boost your score in word games.""
"Cherry blossoms herald spring's arrival in Japan, drawing millions to hanami festivals."
"The mechanic replaced the broken spring in the car's suspension system."
Total base points: 9 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 1 | Consonants: 5
Spring begins at the vernal equinox (around March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere), when day and night are equal length. Earth's tilt brings increasing sunlight, triggering biological clocks in plants and animals to begin new growth cycles.
Spring festivals span cultures: Holi's colors in India, Nowruz in Persia, Easter in Christianity, Hanami in Japan. These celebrations share themes of rebirth, renewal, and triumph over winter's darkness.
Spring brings unique events: bird migrations, flower blooms, spring cleaning urges (possibly evolved from the need to clear winter's musty accumulations), and "spring fever" - the restless energy from increasing daylight affecting serotonin levels.
From Chaucer's pilgrims setting out "whan that April" to T.S. Eliot calling it "the cruellest month," spring in literature symbolizes youth, love, hope, but also unsettling change and awakened desires.
Springs form where underground water pressure forces water through cracks to the surface. Aquifers, confined by impermeable rock, create artesian springs. The water's journey through rock layers naturally filters it, often adding beneficial minerals.
Geothermal springs occur where underground water meets hot volcanic rock. From Iceland's Blue Lagoon to Yellowstone's geysers, these springs have provided warmth, healing, and spiritual significance across cultures.
Many cultures consider springs sacred: Celtic peoples threw offerings into springs, Romans built temples at spring sites, and modern pilgrimages continue to Lourdes and other healing springs.
Springs create unique ecosystems with constant temperatures and specialized species. Florida's springs support manatees, while desert springs become crucial oases supporting endemic fish and plants found nowhere else.
Compression springs push back when compressed, extension springs pull back when stretched, torsion springs resist twisting. Each type converts different forces into stored energy, from mattress coils to mouse trap springs.
Spring technology revolutionized timekeeping (mainsprings in watches), transportation (leaf springs in carriages, coil springs in cars), and comfort (spring mattresses, invented in 1871). Modern shape-memory alloy springs can "remember" their original shape.
Hooke's Law (F = -kx) describes spring behavior: force equals spring constant times displacement. This simple relationship underlies countless devices, from scales to seismographs to particle accelerators.
Springs made possible the Industrial Revolution's precision machinery, pocket watches that synchronized society, and eventually the miniaturization that enables modern electronics. The humble spring literally powers progress.
With P (3 points) and G (2 points), SPRING totals 9 base points. These moderately valuable letters make it consistently scoreable without being too difficult to play.
SPRING extends multiple ways: SPRINGS (+8), SPRINGY (+12 with Y value). It's also the base for SPRINGING, SPRINGTIME. The -ING ending creates excellent perpendicular play opportunities.
Despite two higher-value letters, SPRING uses common tiles (S, R, I, N), making it achievable even late in games when exotic letters are scarce.
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like SPRING