Verb (used with object) : The rider spurred his mount ruthlessly. Appreciation spurs ambition.    From Dictionary.com. 

Verb (used without object) : We spurred onward through the night.    From Dictionary.com. 

Podcast Alley, the grassroots podcast directory that played a big role in spurring the popularity of podcasting, has been acquired by PodShow.    From Wordnik.com.  [Archive 2005-09-01] Reference

But the idea of spurring antibiotic development appears to have some bipartisan support.    From Wordnik.com.  [NYT > Home Page] Reference

There are three modes of pruning and training the vine; but the best for vineries is what is called the spurring-in system.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally] Reference

I don't see it kind of spurring us on any more than usual.    From Wordnik.com.  [USATODAY.com - U.S. men don't want to falter again] Reference

Such a touch is called "spurring," and the transgressor must change places with the back if the latter stands upright before the next player can jump over him.    From Wordnik.com.  [Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium] Reference

Ms. Gillibrand said her focus was on creating the right conditions to foster job growth, such as spurring small-business loans and tax incentives for small businesses.    From Wordnik.com.  [Gillibrand, DioGuardi Spar in Debate] Reference

In former times, when, spurring from the Vale.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Prelude] Reference

All of us in the media, be it papers or magazines or other TV networks, are kind of spurring each other along by doing a good job. ".    From Wordnik.com.  [CNN Snaps Back to Action] Reference

Is that what is spurring sales of all those videos for infants?.    From Wordnik.com.  [Interview: What Would Big Bird Do?] Reference

So she is spurring the expansion of the program in other states.    From Wordnik.com.  [Angela Haines: Mid Career Entrepreneurs: Starting up After Settling in] Reference

A streamlined navigation and look seem to be spurring discussions.    From Wordnik.com.  [Forum Friday: Reader discussions about cookware, freezers, and paint] Reference

The wheat supply concerns are spurring price increases for other grains too.    From Wordnik.com.  [Wheat at Two-Year High on Russian Export Ban] Reference

But they are providing competition to regular schools in many areas, spurring reform.    From Wordnik.com.  [Give The Pols A Gold Star] Reference

Far from spurring economic liberalization, the euro's introduction may even have slowed it.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Euro's Success Requires Liberalization] Reference

 Khan's attempt at spurring a student revolt against Musharraf had ended in abject failure.    From Wordnik.com.  [Khan’s Miscalculation] Reference

Another difference: The British pound lost half of its value in the 1980s, spurring exports.    From Wordnik.com.  [Course of Economy Hinges on Fight Over Stimulus] Reference

Improved business confidence is already spurring strong investment in equipment and software.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Case for Economic Optimism] Reference

Support for the development of a global financial center is spurring related legal initiatives.    From Wordnik.com.  [Russia's Financial Aspirations Could Spur Reform] Reference

Mohamed Siad Barre government collapses, spurring violent power struggle between clan leaders.    From Wordnik.com.  [Civilian Casualties Dog Troops in Somalia] Reference

Hedge funds have benefited capital markets by increasing liquidity and spurring financial innovations.    From Wordnik.com.  [Power Brokers] Reference

On balance, immigration is a big social plus, spurring entrepreneurship and restoring national vitality.    From Wordnik.com.  [Crossing The Next Frontier] Reference

Colombia can't get there from here without spurring entrepreneurial growth and bolstering democratic power.    From Wordnik.com.  [Scott Goodstein: Colombia's "Power" Change] Reference

There are also signs that government action may be spurring the private sector to put the brakes on foreclosures.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Quitter Economy] Reference

Most recently the government decided to place China's version of the NASDAQ there, spurring more new development.    From Wordnik.com.  [China’s Big Spender] Reference

Secondly, Mr. Geithner acknowledges that those changes indeed worked, spurring investment and "decades of prosperity.".    From Wordnik.com.  [The Innocents of 1933] Reference

Most recently, the government announced that China's version of the NASDAQ will be based there, spurring more new development.    From Wordnik.com.  [Hey, Small Spender] Reference

A member of the Abu Dhabi royal family purchased Manchester City in 2008, spurring an ambitious international outreach effort.    From Wordnik.com.  [Manchester City Gives Field to Harlem School] Reference

Doubling fat intake may have overwhelmed the ancient biological coping mechanism, spurring the Western epidemic of heart disease.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Flintstone Diagnosis] Reference

Prosperity feels increasingly normal, spurring Spaniards to borrow: they owe 4.5 times as much for home loans than they did in 1997.    From Wordnik.com.  [His Way Works] Reference

Gold futures settled at a six-week high as economic data proved disappointing, spurring some safe-haven buying, and the dollar fell.    From Wordnik.com.  [Gold Ends at Six-Week High] Reference

Treasurys rose Tuesday as weak U.S. housing data added to anxiety about the global economic outlook, spurring demand for safe assets.    From Wordnik.com.  [Treasury Yields Hit New Depths] Reference

In China, the impact of the breakneck pursuit of profits and development — pollution, rising food prices — is spurring a backlash.    From Wordnik.com.  [Here’s The Good News] Reference

But we also know that even more savings are possible and can be directed toward spurring breakthrough research if we all work together.    From Wordnik.com.  [Rating the House health reform proposal] Reference

During Norton's tenure, the department adopted regulations aimed at spurring deepwater drilling in the western and central Gulf of Mexico.    From Wordnik.com.  [How the Minerals Management Service's partnership with industry led to failure] Reference

But the recent wave began in 1989, after the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Alaskan waters, spurring grass-roots protests.    From Wordnik.com.  [Do Boycotts Work?] Reference

After years of study, the government seems finally to have launched Chinese-style reforms aimed at spurring growth and attracting foreign investment.    From Wordnik.com.  [Hands Across The Sea] Reference