Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   spread

   /sprɛd/

   verb

   • 1. open out (something) so as to extend its surface area, width, or length: "I spread a towel on the sand and sat down" Similar lay outopen outunfurlunrollroll outshake outstraighten outfan outstretch outextendliterary:outspreadOpposite fold up
   • ▪ stretch out (arms, legs, hands, fingers, or wings) so that they are far apart: "Bobby spread his arms wide"
   • 2. extend over a large or increasing area: "rain over north-west Scotland will spread south-east during the day" Similar growincreaseescalateadvancedevelopbroadenexpandwidenproliferatemushroommetastasize
   • ▪ (of a group of people) move apart so as to cover a wider area: "the Marines spread out across the docks"
   • ▪ distribute or disperse (something) over an area: "volcanic eruptions spread dust high into the stratosphere" Similar scatterstrewdisperseliterary:bestrew
   • ▪ gradually reach or cause to reach a wider area or more people: "the violence spread from the city centre to the suburbs" Similar disseminatecirculatepass onput aboutcommunicatediffusemake publicmake knownpurveybroadcastpublicizepropagatepromulgaterepeatliterary:bruit about/abroadOpposite suppress
   • ▪ (of people, animals, or plants) become distributed over a large or larger area: "the owls have spread as far north as Kuala Lumpur"
   • ▪ distribute in a specified way: "you can spread the payments over as long a period as you like"
   • 3. apply (a substance) to an object or surface in an even layer: "he sighed, spreading jam on a croissant" Similar smeardaubplasterslatherlatherapplyputsmoothrub
   • ▪ cover (a surface) with a substance in an even layer: "spread each slice thinly with mayonnaise" Similar covercoatlayerdaubsmotherbutter
   • ▪ be able to be applied in an even layer: "a tub of unsalted butter that spreads so well"
   • 4. lay (a table) for a meal. archaic

   noun

   • 1. the fact or process of spreading over an area: "warmer temperatures could help reduce the spread of the disease" Similar expansionproliferationextensiongrowthmushroomingincreaseescalationbuildoutadvanceadvancementdevelopmentdisseminationdiffusiontransmissionpropagation
   • 2. the extent, width, or area covered by something: "the male's antlers can attain a spread of six feet" Similar spanwidthextentstretchreach
   • ▪ the wingspan of a bird: "the red-tailed hawk has a four-and-a-half-foot spread"
   • ▪ an expanse or amount of something: "the green spread of the park" Similar expanseareasweepstretch
   • ▪ a large farm or ranch. North American
   • 3. the range or variety of something: "a wide spread of ages" Similar rangespanspectrumsweepvariety
   • ▪ the difference between two rates or prices: "the very narrow spread between borrowing and deposit rates"
   • ▪ short for point spread
   • 4. a soft paste that can be applied in a layer to bread or other food: "low-fat spreads"
   • 5. an article or advertisement covering several columns or pages of a newspaper or magazine, especially one on two facing pages: "a double-page spread"
   • 6. a large and impressively elaborate meal: informal "his mother laid on a huge spread" Similar large/elaborate mealfeastbanquetrepastinformal:blowoutnosh
   • 7. a bedspread: North American "a patchwork spread" Similar bedspreadbedcovercovercoverletthrowafghaneiderdowncomforterdated:counterpane

   Word Origin Old English-sprǣdan (used in combinations), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch spreiden and German spreiten.

   Derivatives

   • 1. spreadable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • S

     1

   • P

     3

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • A

     1

   • D

     2

   Powered by Oxford Dictionaries

   More definitions, origin and scrabble points