WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sprout /spraʊt/USA pronunciation   v. [no object]
  1. Botanyto begin to grow;
    shoot forth.
  2. Botany(of a seed or plant) to put forth buds.

n. [countable]
  1. Botanya shoot of a plant.
  2. Botanya new growth from a seed, rootstock, or the like.
  3. something suggesting a sprout, as a young person.
  4. Food sprouts, [plural]
    • Botanythe young shoots of alfalfa, soybeans, etc., eaten, often raw, as a vegetable.
    • BotanyBrussels sprout.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
sprout (sprout),USA pronunciation  v.i. 
  1. Botanyto begin to grow;
    shoot forth, as a plant from a seed.
  2. Botany(of a seed or plant) to put forth buds or shoots.
  3. to develop or grow quickly:a boy awkwardly sprouting into manhood.

v.t. 
  1. to cause to sprout.
  2. to remove sprouts from:Sprout and boil the potatoes.

n. 
  1. Botanya shoot of a plant.
  2. Botanya new growth from a germinating seed, or from a rootstock, tuber, bud, or the like.
  3. something resembling or suggesting a sprout, as in growth.
  4. a young person;
    youth.
  5. Food sprouts:
    • Botanythe young shoots of alfalfa, soybeans, etc., eaten as a raw vegetable.
    • BotanySee Brussels sprout. 
  • 1150–1200; (verb, verbal) Middle English spr(o)uten, Old English -sprūtan, in āsproten (past participle; see a-3); cognate with Middle Dutch sprūten, German spriessen to sprout; akin to Greek speírein to scatter; (noun, nominal) Middle English; compare Middle Dutch, Middle Low German sprute
    1. spring, bud, burgeon, develop.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sprout /spraʊt/ vb
  1. (of a plant, seed, etc) to produce (new leaves, shoots, etc)
  2. (intransitive) often followed by up: to begin to grow or develop: new office blocks are sprouting up all over the city
 n
  1. a newly grown shoot or bud
  2. something that grows like a sprout
  3. See Brussels sprout
Etymology: Old English sprūtan; related to Middle High German sprūzen to sprout, Lettish sprausties to jostle
'sprouts' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
chop suey - mung bean - bean sprouts - bliss - braird - Brussels sprout - pullulate - put - sprout - subgum

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