spur
SPURverbMeaning to urge on; to push someone to act faster or harder
Memory hook SPUR: cheers that PUSH you FASTER. Jamal is tired in the last lap, but the crowd’s cheers push him to run faster and faster. The cheers spur him on.
The cheering crowd spurred the tired runners toward the finish line.
In context The news that the library might close spurred the neighbors to action; within a week they had raised enough money to keep its doors open.
Similar urge, encourage, motivate, prompt
Opposite discourage, hinder, deter
From Old English spura, the pointed tool on a rider’s heel used to urge a horse on.