spur-v; 2 Senses

Sense Number 1: encourage or stimulate an activity or development

Examples:
Spurred (on) by her early success, she went on to write four more novels.
The academy was formed to spur research.
Raphael Fraisse spurred growth of gypsy jazz.
A business tax cut is needed to spur industrial investment.

Mappings:
PropBank: spur.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 2

Sense Number 2: urge a horse on by the spurs

Examples:
He spurred his horse on and shouted "Faster! Faster!"
With that he spurred his horse and rode out of the mesquites toward the town.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 3, 4, 5