The word "spurt" is spelled with a silent "u" and pronounced as /spɜːrt/. The first sound is "sp," which represents a voiced consonant with the lips partially closed. The second sound is "ɜː," which represents a stressed vowel sound that is similar to the "u" in "fur." The last sound is "rt," which represents a voiced consonant sound with the tongue tapped against the alveolar ridge. Overall, the spelling and pronunciation of "spurt" can be confusing due to the unusual vowel sound and silent letter.
Spurt is a verb that refers to a sudden and forceful emission or release of a substance, liquid, or gas. It can also describe the sudden and rapid movement or flow of something, such as a liquid or a person. Additionally, it can be used as a noun to denote a sudden burst or gush of something, or to describe a sudden burst of energy or activity.
As a transitive verb, "spurt" can be used to describe the forceful release or expulsion of a substance or liquid, usually in a rapid and brief period of time. For instance, a hose can spurt out water when the nozzle is opened suddenly, or a person may spurt out some words in a moment of anger or excitement.
In an intransitive sense, "spurt" can describe the sudden and forceful flow or movement of a substance, liquid, or gas. For example, a geyser may spurt water high into the air due to pressure underground, or blood may spurt out from an injured artery.
When used as a noun, "spurt" refers to a sudden and brief burst or gush of something. This can include a sudden increase in speed, such as a runner making a spurt towards the finish line, or a sudden burst of growth, as in a growth spurt during adolescence.
Overall, "spurt" describes a sudden, forceful, and often brief release, movement, or burst of something.
• A forcible ejection, suddenly or repeated at intervals, of a liquid substance from a tube or small opening; a jet; a sudden effort.
• To throw out forcibly in a stream, as water; to rush or issue out, as a jet, suddenly or at intervals.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "spurt" comes from the Middle English word "spurten", which means "to rush out forcefully". This Middle English term likely derived from the Old Norse word "spyrta", meaning "to gush". The Old Norse term, in turn, can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "*spurtōną".