spring up

phrasal verb

sprang up or sprung up; sprung up; springing up; springs up

: to grow or appear suddenly

The weeds sprang up overnight.

New housing developments are springing up all over the state.

Examples of spring up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Since the camp opened, several tents have sprung up nearby, just outside the gate, along the bike trail, including some people who are among the 800 on the waiting list to live in Camp Resolution. —

Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 16 May 2024 Ethanol plants quickly sprang up around corn fields, due largely to investments from farmers eager for the new market to succeed. —

Karina Atkins, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2024 The protests come as administrators at universities from California to New York have struggled to find the right balance in responding to the pro-Palestinian encampments that have sprung up in recent weeks. —

Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 12 May 2024 My journey literally doubled in length to a nearly three-hour adventure, as organic conversation sprung up with fellow hikers, both in English and Mandarin. —

Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 11 May 2024 The protests, which have sprung up on campuses across the country since last month, also oppose U.S. military support for Israel. —

Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024 Our safety depended too much on teamwork for any differences to spring up among us. —

Tom Hinman, Outdoor Life, 8 May 2024 After anti-Israel demonstrations sprang up on the campus, university administrators took action to restore order on the campus. —

Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 7 May 2024 By Wednesday afternoon, a small city sprang up inside the reenforced encampment, full of hundreds of people and tents on the campus quad. —

CBS News, 2 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spring up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.