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spur on

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spur someone on

to urge someone onward; to egg someone on. (Fig. on applying spurs to a horse.) The crowd spurred the runners on throughout the race. The cheering spurred on the runners.

See also: on, spur

spur somebody/something on

also spur on somebody/something

to encourage someone or something I yelled at the dog to drop my hat, but that seemed to spur him on to chew it up. Having more women in government may spur on other women with an interest in entering politics.

See also: on, spur

spur on

Goad or urge ahead, as in The thought of winning a Pulitzer Prize spurred the reporter on. This expression transfers using spurs to make a horse go faster to incentives of other kinds. [Late 1500s]

See also: on, spur

spur on

v.

1. To urge some horse onward by the use of spurs: The knight spurred the horse on across the shallow river. I spurred on the horse as fast as it could go.

2. To stimulate or encourage someone or something: Low gas prices spurred on the booming economy. We never could have finished the project if our boss hadn't spurred us on.

See also: on, spur