spread
(sprĕd)
v. spread, spread·ing, spreads
v.tr.
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.
3.
a. To distribute over a surface in a layer: spread varnish on the steps.
b. To cover with a layer: spread a cracker with butter.
4.
a. 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.
6.
a. 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.
v.intr.
1. To be extended or enlarged: The farm fields spread to the horizon.
2. To move over an area, be distributed, or be widely dispersed: The troops spread out across the field. The volcano’s ash spread over the continent.
3. To 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: This paint spreads really well.
6. To become separated; be forced farther apart: The land masses spread until there was an ocean between them.
n.
1.
a. The act or process of spreading: the spread of disease.
b. Dissemination, as of news; diffusion.
2.
a. An open area of land; an expanse.
b. A ranch, farm, or estate.
3. The extent or limit to which something is or can be spread: The tree’s canopy has a spread of 50 feet.
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.
7.
a. Two facing pages of a magazine, newspaper, or book, considered as a unit.
b. An article or advertisement running across two or more columns of a newspaper or magazine.
8.
a. A difference, as between two figures or totals: What’s the spread between tallest and shortest?
b. A position taken in two or more options or futures contracts in order to profit from a change in their relative prices.
c. The difference between the price asked and bid for a particular security.
d. The difference in yields between two fixed-income securities, as between short-term and long-term bonds.
9. 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.
10. Wingspread.
Idiom:
spread (oneself) thin
To work on too many projects: overextend oneself.
[Middle English spreden, from Old English -sprǣdan (as in tōsprǣdan, to spread out); see sper- in Indo-European roots.]
spread′a·bil′i·ty n.
spread′a·ble adj.
spread′a·bly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Spreading
See Also: GROWTH, PERVASIVENESS
- (Anxiety was) as contagious as a yawn —Barbara Lazear Ascher, New York Times/Hers, October 23, 1986
- Blown up [with fever] like a tire —Elena Poniatowska
- (Excuses) breaking out like pimples —Marge Piercy
- Breed like guinea pigs —Raymond Chandler
- Catch happiness as quickly as others catch colds —Storm Jameson
- Catching like fire in dry grass —William Dean Howells
- Contagious like the gladness of a happy child —Edward Bulwer-Lytton
- Excitement swept through Jalna [the estate which is the setting for a series of De La Roche novels] like a forest fire —Mazo De La Roche
- Expand like air in a pressure chamber —Penelope Gilliatt
- Gather like dust on a windowsill —Anon
- Multiply like troubles —Marge Piercy
- Passed around [German measles] like a dish of cool figs at the first rehearsal —Reynolds Price
- (Houses) popping up everywhere like the heat rash. Like pimples —George Garrett
- Spread a thought … like butter on toast —Carlos Fuentes
- (Feel her pleasure deepening and) spreading like a chord struck in all octaves at once, sustained, played, and then held and held till it slowly faded into its overtones —Marge Piercy
- (She looked at me, recognition) spreading like a rash —Sharon Sheehe Stark
- (Pain) spreading like lava —John Braine
- Spreading [throughout her system] … like poison dye —Margaret Millar
In the mystery novel, The Fiend, the author uses the simile to describe a key character’s growing alertness to a dangerous situation.
- (Affection … ) spread like an epidemic through the room —Jean Stafford
- Spread like an unconfirmed rumor —Elyse Sommer
- Spread like a quenchless fire —Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Spread … like a tiny spray of ink on a piece of blotting paper —Franz Werfel
- Spread like butter under a knife —Lawrence Durrell
- Spread like dandelions after spring rain —Marilyn Ross about growth of directories, Publishers Weekly, June 5, 1987
- (But they cling and) spread like lichen —Elizabeth Bishop
- Spread like mushrooms after a fresh spring rain —Anon
Mushrooms have long lent themselves to quick growth comparisons. A variation: “Grow like toadstools.”
- Spread like mushrooms across an unsuspecting garden —Tom Robbins
- Spread like pancake batter on a hot griddle —Elyse Sommer
- Spread like the desert —Henry James
- (Silence) spread … like water that a pebble stirs —Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Spread out like a doily —Alma Stone
- Spread out (the sun) like a jellyfish —John Steinbeck
- (I saw the vineyards) spread out like wings —Eudora Welty
- Spreads faster than panic in a plane —Donald Seaman
- Spreads like a sigh —Anon
- (Love that) spreads like a stain of ink in absorbent cloth —Diane Wakoski
As poet Wakoski links the spreading stain with love in her poem, My Little Heart Pops Out, so W. H. Auden uses “Ruin spreading like a stain” in Something Is Bound to Happen.
- Spreads like good news —Slogan for Satinwax, Economic Laboratory
- Spread through like a clumsy, uninvited guest who is obese and eats too much —Lorrie Moore
The descriptive frame of reference in Moore’s novel, Self-Help, is cancer.
- (Enemies … are) sprouting (around me) like tulips —Peter Benchley
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
You could see the word spreading that Willow Twine was there. ❋ Todd Strasser (2011)
The most significant consequence of this spreading is the ability of waves to ‘bend around corners’ when faced with an obstacle. ❋ Unknown (2007)
Outlining what they describe as spreading contagion and a sovereign debt crisis which they say has «entered a new phase,» officials highlight the difficulties experienced by European banks in borrowing. ❋ Unknown (2011)
We guess that’s what you call spreading your business interest around, right? ❋ Unknown (2010)
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI decried what he called a spreading pessimism about marriage, saying Thursday it is not the impossible undertaking many make it out to be. ❋ Unknown (2009)
Is this what he called spreading the wealth around about? ❋ Unknown (2009)
Bush had a deficit of 459 billion when leaving office and in 40 days Obama has increased that by 8 times to 4 trillion dollars, is this what he called spreading the wealth around? ❋ Unknown (2009)
This is what they call spreading around the wealth. ❋ Unknown (2008)
Just me, doing my part in spreading the joy of good music to those willing to listen. ❋ Unknown (2009)
It also discusses the role of wartime conditions in spreading the virus-we don’t have that, but we do have global travel in a way that wasn’t present in 1918. ❋ Unknown (2009)
Republicans once again spreading lies and falsehoods. ❋ Unknown (2009)
«The epidemic is spreading from the states at the ground zero of the foreclosure problems out into areas that hadn’t been previously affected,» said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. ❋ AP (2010)
[I heard] [Sasha] likes spreading; [what a slut]! ❋ Sapphybab (2015)
«[Hey girl], you got any [Cheetos]?»
«Yeah, what’s up, you hungry?»
«[Damn right], this county food is bullshit, let’s make a spread» ❋ Ms Fin (2008)
[Bitch], [spread] [for me]. ❋ Renn Murk (2003)
[Nice] spread. ❋ ProfessorProcrastinate (2019)
[Bitch I’m] [horny] [SPREAD IT] NOW! ❋ Superior Shaft Sam (2017)
[Employee]: [Guest] # [306] please!
You: Can I get some spread?
Employee: How many?
You: 2 please ❋ Eikosha (2009)
I’m in [the locker room], I turn around and boom, she [snuck] in a hit me with «[the spread]»! ❋ AyoDirtySauce (2015)
1) During a mid-afternoon lull at the [Linwood] House, Todd shouted “[SPREAD IT ON]” before [cannonballing] into the pool; the kick-back was now a bombass dankass party.
2) As Bree iced the cake, Kev whispered “mmm [spread it on] nice and good like.” Bree felt loved and became happy. ❋ FootballGirl69 (2020)
They had a 4 [acre] spread on the [outskirts] of «town» and a large gun collection. They were afraid of [the government]. ❋ Miskatonic Jack 2 (2010)
[Check it out], yo! I put [hot cheetos] in my [spread] and it turned pink! ❋ Paperdoll2207 (2008)
-
Defenition of the word spreading
- The process or result of diffusion, dispersal, expansion, extension, etc.
- resembling a bush in being thickly branched and spreading
- spreading by diffusion
- opening to public discussion and debate
- act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time
- process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
- spreading over a wide area; «under the spreading chestnut tree»; «the spreading circle of lamplight»; «wide-spreading branches»
- the opening of a subject to widespread discussion and debate
Synonyms for the word spreading
-
- airing
- bushy
- circulation
- diffusing
- diffusion
- diffusive
- dispersal
- dispersion
- dispersive
- disseminating
- dissemination
- disseminative
- distribution
- public exposure
- scattering
- spread
- thinning out
- wide-spreading
Similar words in the spreading
-
- branchy
- broad
- distributive
- spreading
- wide
Hyponyms for the word spreading
-
- circulation
- decentralisation
- decentralization
- diffusion
- dispersal
- dispersion
- dissemination
- extension
- invasion
- irradiation
- propagation
- radiation
- scatter
- scattering
- strewing
Hypernyms for the word spreading
-
- change of location
- extension
- transmission
- travel
See other words
-
- What is mortgage
- The definition of loaned
- The interpretation of the word maturity
- What is meant by give somebody a loan of
- The lexical meaning give somebody an advance of
- The dictionary meaning of the word restitution
- The grammatical meaning of the word upgrading
- Meaning of the word upturn
- Literal and figurative meaning of the word convalescence
- The origin of the word spreads
- Synonym for the word spreadsheets
- Antonyms for the word steps forward
- Homonyms for the word far along
- Hyponyms for the word forward-looking
- Holonyms for the word forward-thinking
- Hypernyms for the word progressively
- Proverbs and sayings for the word far ahead
- Translation of the word in other languages progressives
Definitions of spreading
-
noun
act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time
-
noun
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
-
synonyms:
spread
see moresee less-
types:
- show 8 types…
- hide 8 types…
-
diffusion
the spread of social institutions (and myths and skills) from one society to another
-
dispersion, scattering
spreading widely or driving off
-
invasion
(pathology) the spread of pathogenic microorganisms or malignant cells to new sites in the body
-
irradiation
(physiology) the spread of sensory neural impulses in the cortex
-
radiation
the spread of a group of organisms into new habitats
-
Diaspora
the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel; from the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 587-86 BC when they were exiled to Babylonia up to the present time
-
dissipation
breaking up and scattering by dispersion
-
adaptive radiation
the development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches
-
type of:
-
change of location, travel
a movement through space that changes the location of something
-
noun
the opening of a subject to widespread discussion and debate
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘spreading’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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распространение, распределение, разброс, раскидистый, развесистый
существительное ↓
- распространение
spreading of disease — распространение болезни 
- тех. расковка; плющение; растягивание
- рассеивание, разброс (попаданий, численных значений и т. п.)
прилагательное
- бот. стелющийся (о растении)
- раскидистый (о дереве)
Мои примеры
Словосочетания
the city’s spreading urban blight — деградация города, которая распространяется всё больше
to toss a wide spreading fan — трясти широко раскрытым веером
a vehicle for spreading propaganda — средство пропаганды
gravel spreading — рассыпка гравия
liquid manure spreading truck — автожижеразбрасыватель
manure spreading rotor — битер навозоразбрасывателя; ротор навозоразбрасывателя
manure-spreading rotor — битер навозоразбрасывателя
manure-spreading unit — устройство для разбрасывания навоза
manure spreading — разбрасывание навоза
spreading mastic — нанесение мастики
muck-spreading unit — устройство для разбрасывания навоза
Примеры с переводом
Flowers were spreading their fragrance.
Цветы распространяли аромат.
We must prevent the cancer from spreading.
Мы должны предотвратить распространение рака. (у пациента)
…the neighborhood chatterbox has again been spreading malicious gossip…
…местная балаболка вновь распускала злонамеренные сплетни…
He was accused of spreading propaganda.
Его обвинили в распространении пропаганды.
She was spreading scandalous rumors about him.
Она распускала о нём скандальные слухи.
He had been spreading gossip about his coworkers.
Он распространял сплетни о своих коллегах.
The dried grass of the prairie kindled, spreading the flames for miles.
Высушенная трава прерий вспыхнула, распространяя пламя на мили.
ещё 10 примеров свернуть
Примеры, ожидающие перевода
Andy loves spreading rumours about his colleagues. 
Для того чтобы добавить вариант перевода, кликните по иконке ☰, напротив примера.
Возможные однокоренные слова
spread — распространение, размах, распространять, распространенный
spreader — спредер, распределитель, распространитель, распорка, навозоразбрасыватель