| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| spread |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  spr d |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: spread, spread·ing, spreads
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To open to a fuller extent or width; stretch: spread out the tablecloth; a bird spreading its wings. 2. To make wider the gap between; move farther apart: spread her fingers. 3a. To distribute over a surface in a layer: spread varnish on the steps. b. To cover with a layer: spread a cracker with butter. 4a. To distribute widely: The tornado spread destruction. b. To make a wide or extensive arrangement of: We spread the bicycle parts out on the floor. c. To exhibit or display the full extent of: the scene that was spread before us. 5. To cause to become widely seen or known; scatter or disseminate: spread the news; spread the beam of the flashlight. 6a. To prepare (a table) for eating; set. b. To arrange (food or a meal) on a table. 7. To flatten (a rivet end, for example) by pounding. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To be extended or enlarged. 2. To become distributed or widely dispersed. 3. To increase in range of occurrence; become known or prevalent over a wide area: The word spread fast. 4. To be exhibited, displayed, or visible in broad or full extent: the vista spread seemingly to infinity. 5. To become or admit of being distributed in a layer. 6. To become separated; be forced farther apart. | | NOUN: | 1a. The act of spreading. b. Dissemination, as of news; diffusion. 2a. An open area of land; an expanse. b. A ranch, a farm, or an estate. 3. The extent or limit to which something is or can be spread; range. 4. A cloth covering for a bed, table, or other piece of furniture. 5. Informal An abundant meal laid out on a table. 6. A food to be spread on bread or crackers. 7a. Two facing pages of a magazine or newspaper, often with related matter extending across the fold. b. A story or advertisement running across two or more columns of a magazine or newspaper. 8. A difference, as between two figures or totals. 9a. A position taken in two or more options or futures contracts in order to profit from a change in their relative prices. b. The difference between the price asked and bid for a particular security. 10. A number of points offered to equalize the chances of winning in a wager on a competition, usually between sports teams. Also called point spread. 11. Wingspread. | | IDIOM: | spread (oneself) thin To work on too many projects: overextend oneself. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English spreden, from Old English -spr dan (as in t sprdan, to spread out). See sper- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | spread a·bil i·ty —NOUN
spreada·ble —ADJECTIVE
spreada·bly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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