1
as in bursts
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
a spurt of economic growth for the first quarter of the year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pours
to flow out in great quantities or with force
water spurted from the garden hose just as I was checking the nozzle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in erupts
to throw out or off (something from within) often violently
the pipe suddenly cracked and began spurting water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spurts
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
16 June 2026
What followed were decades of growth that looked fine in the aggregate and felt hollow in practice—punctuated by brief spurts of genuine buoyancy that raised expectations before collapsing them.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
There have even been spurts of hot hitting by players that are entirely capable of spurts but shouldn’t be counted on to carry the team over long stretches.
—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 May 2026
By contrast, sports like sprinting and powerlifting are done in short spurts, and the body responds by burning through energy sources that are already stored in the muscles.
—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
20 May 2026
Over the show’s multi-month shoot in North Texas, Williams said the production would visit Ferris in spurts.
—
Brayden Garcia
may 19,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2026
It’s caused when the vocal cords slacken, leading to irregular vibration and an audible cracking or rattling sound as air is released in spurts.
—
ArsTechnica,
14 May 2026
Offensively, the power has come in fits and spurts.
—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
13 May 2026
This method could entail spurts of blood or violent death throes.
—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
Throat-slittings are conveyed not with spurts of blood but with creepy sound and lighting effects.
—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
16 June 2026
What followed were decades of growth that looked fine in the aggregate and felt hollow in practice—punctuated by brief spurts of genuine buoyancy that raised expectations before collapsing them.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
There have even been spurts of hot hitting by players that are entirely capable of spurts but shouldn’t be counted on to carry the team over long stretches.
—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 May 2026
By contrast, sports like sprinting and powerlifting are done in short spurts, and the body responds by burning through energy sources that are already stored in the muscles.
—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
20 May 2026
Over the show’s multi-month shoot in North Texas, Williams said the production would visit Ferris in spurts.
—
Brayden Garcia
may 19,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2026
It’s caused when the vocal cords slacken, leading to irregular vibration and an audible cracking or rattling sound as air is released in spurts.
—
ArsTechnica,
14 May 2026
Offensively, the power has come in fits and spurts.
—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
13 May 2026
This method could entail spurts of blood or violent death throes.
—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
Verb
Blood spurts against the window.
—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurts
Noun
-
From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.
-
San Francisco real estate agent Butch Haze of Compass has seen tech booms followed by ravenous bursts of homebuying since the first internet gold rush of the late 1990s.
Noun
-
Hale pointed toward the sky and urged them to look up as three military jets roared above the crowd.
-
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani lit up the Empire State Building after Navy jets soared over the city and tall ships took to its harbor.
Verb
-
In the low-elevation deserts of Eastern California, the sun sits high in the sky during late June and pours energy into the ground for much of the day.
-
As the Judgment of Paris turns 50, winemaker Kristy Melton opens Freemark Abbey’s archives, pours historic bottles and reflects on what nearly 140 years of unbroken Napa history still has to say.
Verb
-
Gold is a safe-haven asset that investors gravitate toward when economic and political turmoil erupts, sending waves through the markets.
-
Like Swift, Hubble is losing altitude as the sun erupts with one flare after another.
Noun
-
There is even a remote possibility for a few flurries in the highest peaks of the Sierra on Saturday and Sunday nights with temps briefly below freezing.
-
Even then, there are flurries of intense activity.
Verb
-
Instead, the film rushes to its next action beat.
-
Babcock is a possession coach; Bouchard’s brilliant passes tape-to-tape out of the defensive zone are textbook starters for rushes up the ice.
Verb
-
This development forcibly ejects the mild-mannered mammal into both his parents’ den and the wild — literally — world of dating, where smelling suitors’ pee takes the place of an app profile.
-
At the same time, a salty liquid containing calcium chloride (a salt often used to de-ice roads) is pumped through the regenerator, which carries the heat away and ejects it to the surroundings on exit.
Noun
-
Public outbursts remain relatively uncommon, making this week's intervention particularly revealing.
-
There have been intermittent outbursts of violence against immigrants since then.
Cite this Entry
“Spurts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurts. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
