Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mainspring

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.96 in modern English

Syllables: main-spring
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling.

noun

The most important reason for, or element of, something.

Example Sentences

"He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away."
"My daughter is the mainspring of my life."
"The principles of empiricism and utilitarianism, which lay down that human beings are neither good nor bad by nature but only by upbringing, that interest is the mainspring of morality, and so forth, naturally lead us to inquire what social conditions are necessary to make the community of mankind a reality."
"But in the England of Shakespeare’s history plays, the mainspring of the system has broken down."

Etymology

From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”).

Inflected Forms

mainsprings (plural)

Questions

What does mainspring mean?: The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling.
Where does mainspring come from?: From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”).

How to pronounce mainspring

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