Sprung is the past tense of the verb “spring,” which means to jump, leap, or move suddenly and quickly. When a cat springs onto a counter, it launches itself upward in one quick, powerful motion. When you spring out of bed in the morning, you jump up energetically rather than slowly rolling out.

The word often suggests a sudden release of stored energy, like how a compressed spring shoots back to its original shape when you let go. A trap that has been sprung has been triggered and snapped shut. A surprise party guest might say the celebration was sprung on them, meaning it happened suddenly and unexpectedly.

Things can also be sprung in the sense of being released or freed. In old stories, a prisoner might be sprung from jail by friends who help them escape. Similarly, you might hear someone say “spring me from this boring meeting” as a joking way to ask for rescue.

When something has sprung a leak, it has suddenly developed a hole that lets water escape. A boat that has sprung a leak needs immediate attention before it fills with water. The word captures that sense of something happening quickly and unexpectedly.