mainspring

Valid in Scrabble

Definition of mainspring

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

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

“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.”

See all 2 definitions

noun

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

“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.”
(figuratively)The most important reason for, or element of, something.

“My daughter is the mainspring of my life.”
“But in the England of Shakespeare’s history plays, the mainspring of the system has broken down.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

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

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