Spread definition
Spread out the tablecloth; a bird spreading its wings.
Spread the news; spread the beam of the flashlight.
Spread her fingers.
Spread varnish on the steps.
An example of to spread is unfolding and laying out a blanket for a picnic.
An example of to spread is the phrase spread out, someone laying on their back with their arms fully extended.
An example of to spread is using a knife to cover a piece of toast with peanut butter.
We spread the bicycle parts out on the floor.
The scene that was spread before us.
Spread a cracker with butter.
The farm fields spread to the horizon.
The troops spread out across the field. The volcano's ash spread over the continent.
The word spread fast.
The vista spread seemingly to infinity.
This paint spreads really well.
The land masses spread until there was an ocean between them.
The spread of disease.
What's the spread between tallest and shortest?
To spread payments over a two-year period.
To spread news, a disease, etc.
To spread the wealth.
To spread butter on toast.
To spread bread with jelly.
Middle-age spread.
The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
I dropped my glass; the water spread quickly over the tiled floor.
She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot.
He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
To spread a table.
The tornado spread destruction.
The tree's canopy has a spread of 50 feet.
- To work on too many projects: overextend oneself.
- to try to do too many things at once
Other Word Forms
Noun
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of spread
- Middle English spreden from Old English -sprǣdan (as in tōsprǣdan to spread out) sper- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English spreden, from Old English sprÇ£dan (“to spread, expand"), from Proto-Germanic *spraidijanÄ… (“to spread"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle"). Cognate with West Frisian spriede (“to spread"), North Frisian spriedjen (“to spread"), Dutch spreiden (“to spread"), Low German spreden (“to spread"), German spreiten (“to spread, spread out"), Norwegian spreida, spreie (“to spread, disseminate"), Swedish sprida (“to spread").
From Wiktionary