To spread the word definition

  
      vb   , spreads, spreading, spread  

1    to extend or unfold or be extended or unfolded to the fullest width  
she spread the map on the table     

2    to extend or cause to extend over a larger expanse of space or time  
the milk spread all over the floor, the political unrest spread over several years     

3    to apply or be applied in a coating  
butter does not spread very well when cold     

4    to distribute or be distributed over an area or region  

5    to display or be displayed in its fullest extent  
the landscape spread before us     

6    tr   to prepare (a table) for a meal  

7    tr   to lay out (a meal) on a table  

8    to send or be sent out in all directions; disseminate or be disseminated  
someone has been spreading rumours, the disease spread quickly     

9    (of rails, wires, etc.) to force or be forced apart  

10    to increase the breadth of (a part), esp. to flatten the head of a rivet by pressing, hammering, or forging  

a    to lay out (hay) in a relatively thin layer to dry  

b    to scatter (seed, manure, etc.) over a relatively wide area  

12    tr; often foll by: around  
Informal   to make (oneself) agreeable to a large number of people, often of the opposite sex  

13      (Phonetics)   to narrow and lengthen the aperture of (the lips) as for the articulation of a front vowel, such as (i:) in English see (si:)  
      n  

14    the act or process of spreading; diffusion, dispersal, expansion, etc.  
the spread of the Christian religion     

15    Informal   the wingspan of an aircraft  

16    an extent of space or time; stretch  
a spread of 50 years     

17    Informal     (chiefly U.S. and Canadian)   a ranch or relatively large tract of land  

18    the limit of something fully extended  
the spread of a bird’s wings     

19    a covering for a table or bed  

20    Informal   a large meal or feast, esp. when it is laid out on a table  

21    a food which can be spread on bread, etc.  
salmon spread     

22    two facing pages in a book or other publication  

23    a widening of the hips and waist  
middle-age spread     

a    the difference between the bid and offer prices quoted by a market maker  

b    the excess of the price at which stock is offered for public sale over the price paid for the same stock by an underwriter  

c      (Chiefly U.S)   a double option  
   Compare     
  straddle  
  
  9  

25      (Jewellery)   the apparent size of a gemstone when viewed from above expressed in carats  
a diamond with a spread of four carats     
      adj  

26    extended or stretched out, esp. to the fullest extent  

27    (of a gem) shallow and flat  

a    (of the lips) forming a long narrow aperture  

b    (of speech sounds) articulated with spread lips  
(i:) in English «feel» is a spread vowel     
     (Old English sprædan; related to Old High German spreiten to spread, Old Lithuanian sprainas stiff)  

  spreadability      n  

  spreadable      adj  

centre spread  
      n  

1    the pair of two facing pages in the middle of a magazine, newspaper, etc., often illustrated  

2    a photograph of a nude or nearly nude woman (or man) in a magazine on such pages  

double spread  
      n     (Printing)   two facing pages of a publication treated as a single unit  

middle-age spread   , middle-aged spread  
      n   the fat that appears round many people’s waist during middle age  

spread betting  
      n   a form of gambling in which stakes are placed not on the results of contests but on the number of points scored, etc. Winnings and losses are calculated according to the accuracy or inaccuracy of the prediction  

spread eagle  
      n  

1    the representation of an eagle with outstretched wings, used as an emblem of the U.S.  

2    an acrobatic skating figure  

spread-eagle  
      adj     (also)
  


  spread-eagled  

1    lying or standing with arms and legs outstretched  
      vb  

2    to assume or cause to assume the shape of a spread eagle  

3    intr     (Skating)   to execute a spread eagle  

spread sampling  
      n   the selection of a corpus for statistical analysis by selecting a number of short passages at random throughout the work and considering their aggregation  
   Compare     
  block sampling  

: to tell others

People are spreading the word about his book.

Spread the word that we’re leaving in five minutes.

Dictionary Entries Near spread the word

Cite this Entry

“Spread the word.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spread%20the%20word. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Also found in: Acronyms.

spread the word

To disseminate a specific piece of information. Hey, the game is canceled due to the rain—spread the word. The goal of this program is to spread the word about the dangers of opioids.

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

spread the word

to tell many people some kind of information. I need to spread the word that the meeting is canceled for this afternoon.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

spread the ˈword

tell people about something: Because of her contacts in the business world, he asked Kate to spread the word about his latest venture. OPPOSITE: keep something to yourself

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

See also:

  • fan out
  • spread
  • spread (one’s) net wide
  • spread like wildfire
  • spread like wildfire, to
  • urban legend
  • urban myth
  • urban tale
  • word of mouse
  • if (the) word gets out

English[edit]

Verb[edit]

spread the word (third-person singular simple present spreads the word, present participle spreading the word, simple past and past participle spread the word)

  1. (idiomatic) To tell a lot of people; to inform as many people as one can.
    Coordinate terms: preach, campaign, pass on
    • 2006, Oded Maimon; Lior Rokach, Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Handbook, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 424:

      A famous example of viral marketing is the rapid spread of Hotmail as a free email service. Attached to each email was a short advertisement and Hotmail’s URL, and customers spread the word about Hotmail simply by emailing their family and friends.

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  • “spread the word” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • “spread the word”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  • “spread the word gospel message” (US) / “spread the word gospel message” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
spread the word

1) Общая лексика: бросить клич

2) Сленг: (всем) рассказать, пустить слушок, раззвонить, распустить слух, сообщить

Универсальный англо-русский словарь.
.
2011.

Смотреть что такое «spread the word» в других словарях:

  • spread the word — spread the word/​gospel/​message phrase to tell a lot of people about an idea that you believe in They are spreading the word on the need for healthy eating. Campaigners worked tirelessly to spread the environmentalist message. Thesaurus: to give …   Useful english dictionary

  • spread the word — spread the word/message ► to tell other people about something, especially something new, and say whether you think it is good or bad: »Satisfied customers who spread the word play a big part in establishing the reputation of a brand. Main Entry …   Financial and business terms

  • spread the word — If you spread the word about something, you let as many people know about it as you can …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • spread the word — tell everybody, get the word out    The teacher asked us to spread the word about the school concert …   English idioms

  • spread the word — to tell other people, often a lot of other people, about something. A meeting has been arranged for next Thursday, so if you see anyone, do spread the word. We need to start spreading the word that recycling is important. (often + that) …   New idioms dictionary

  • spread the word/message — ► to tell other people about something, especially something new, and say whether you think it is good or bad: »Satisfied customers who spread the word play a big part in establishing the reputation of a brand. Main Entry: ↑spread …   Financial and business terms

  • spread the word — spread a rumor, disseminate hearsay …   English contemporary dictionary

  • spread the message — spread the word/​gospel/​message phrase to tell a lot of people about an idea that you believe in They are spreading the word on the need for healthy eating. Campaigners worked tirelessly to spread the environmentalist message. Thesaurus: to give …   Useful english dictionary

  • spread the gospel — spread the word/​gospel/​message phrase to tell a lot of people about an idea that you believe in They are spreading the word on the need for healthy eating. Campaigners worked tirelessly to spread the environmentalist message. Thesaurus: to give …   Useful english dictionary

  • spread the message — spread the word/message ► to tell other people about something, especially something new, and say whether you think it is good or bad: »Satisfied customers who spread the word play a big part in establishing the reputation of a brand. Main Entry …   Financial and business terms

  • The Word for World Is Forest — infobox Book | name = The Word for World Is Forest title orig = translator = image caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover) author = Ursula K. Le Guin illustrator = cover artist = country = United States language = English series = Hainish… …   Wikipedia

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