spring into action

verb

To begin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.

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Meanings

verbspring into action (third-person singular simple present springs into action, present participle springing into action, simple past sprang into action, past participle sprung into action)

present singular third person springs into action · participle present springing into action · past sprang into action · participle past sprung into action

  1. To begin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.

    “Springing into action is not the easy choice,” chef and humanitarian José Andrés, a two-time TIME100 honoree, writes in his tribute to Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

    2021 September 15, Edward Felsenthal, quoting José Andrés, “How We Chose the 2021 TIME100”, in Time, archived from the original on 15 Sep 2021
    1 more example

    At once the two henchmen sprang into action. Fingers grabbed Frank by looping his arms under the boy’s. He scooped him off the floor. “Get off me!” screamed the boy as he struggled to get away.

    2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN

Translations

Finnish tarttua toimeen
  • tarttua toimeenbegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
French passer à l'action
  • passer à l'actionbegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
Italian passare all'azione
  • passare all'azionebegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
Māori arawhiti
  • arawhitibegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
Polish wkraczać do akcji, wkroczyć do akcji
  • wkraczać do akcjibegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
  • wkroczyć do akcjibegin doing something or become active suddenly and very quickly.
Cite this entry
APA

spring into action. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spring%20into%20action

MLA

“spring into action.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spring%20into%20action. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spring into action,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spring%20into%20action.

Source: spring into action on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.