mainspring

noun

main·spring ˈmān-ˌspriŋ

: the chief spring in a mechanism especially of a watch or clock

: the chief or most powerful motive, agent, or cause

Examples of mainspring in a Sentence

Agriculture is the mainspring of their economy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Rotating the watch to view the various pods also winds the mainspring. —

Carol Besler, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2024 The watch is powered by a mainspring just like a mechanical watch and has a very similar gear train. —

David Flett, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2024 The movement has twin barrels and an efficient dual impulse escapement to provide 80 hours of power reserve, twice what was possible in 1967 even with a high-torque mainspring. —

Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 4 Sep. 2024 The mainsprings of political change in Iran remain internal. —

Eric Edelman, Foreign Affairs, 2 Jan. 2023 See all Example Sentences for mainspring