- spread
- [[t]spre̱d[/t]]
♦♦spreads, spreading, spread1) VERB If you spread something somewhere, you open it out or arrange it over a place or surface, so that all of it can be seen or used easily.
[V n prep] She spread a towel on the sand and lay on it...
[V n prep] His coat was spread over the bed.
Spread out means the same as spread.V n P
He extracted several glossy prints and spread them out on a low coffee table... V P n (not pron) In his room, Tom was spreading out a map of Scandinavia on the bed.2) VERB If you spread your arms, hands, fingers, or legs, you stretch them out until they are far apart.[V n adv] Sitting on the floor, spread your legs as far as they will go without overstretching...
[V n adj] He stepped back and spread his hands wide. `You are most welcome to our home.' [Also V n]
Spread out means the same as spread.V P n (not pron)
David made a gesture, spreading out his hands as if he were showing that he had no explanation to make... V n P You need a bed that's large enough to let you spread yourself out.3) VERB If you spread a substance on a surface or spread the surface with the substance, you put a thin layer of the substance over the surface.[V n prep] Spread the mixture in the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes...
[V n prep] A thick layer of wax was spread over the surface...
[V n with n] Spread the bread with the cheese.
4) N-MASS: usu supp N Spread is a soft food which is put on bread....a wholemeal salad roll with low fat spread.
5) V-ERG If something spreads or is spread by people, it gradually reaches or affects a larger and larger area or more and more people.[V prep/adv] The industrial revolution which started a couple of hundred years ago in Europe is now spreading across the world.
...the sense of fear spreading in residential neighborhoods...
[V n] He was fed-up with the lies being spread about him.
N-SING: usu the N of nSpread is also a noun.The greatest hope for reform is the gradual spread of information... Thanks to the spread of modern technology, trained workers are now more vital than ever.
6) V-ERG If something such as a liquid, gas, or smoke spreads or is spread, it moves outwards in all directions so that it covers a larger area.Fire spread rapidly after a chemical truck exploded...
[V prep] A dark red stain was spreading across his shirt...
[V n prep] In Northern California, a wildfire has spread a haze of smoke over 200 miles.
N-SINGSpread is also a noun.The situation was complicated by the spread of a serious forest fire.
7) VERB If you spread something over a period of time, it takes place regularly or continuously over that period, rather than happening at one time.[V n over n] There seems to be little difference whether you eat all your calorie allowance in one go, or spread it over the day...
[V n over n] The course is spread over a five week period.
8) VERB If you spread something such as wealth or work, you distribute it evenly or equally.[V n] ...policies that spread the state's wealth more evenly...
[V n prep] The loss of jobs has been far more evenly spread across the regions than it was during the early 1980s.
N-SING: usu N of nSpread is also a noun.There are easier ways to encourage the even spread of wealth.
A topic-based approach can be both hard to assess in primary schools with a typical spread of ability...
We have an enormous spread of industries, mainly in the Home Counties and East Anglia.
Syn:10) N-COUNT A spread is a large meal, especially one that has been prepared for a special occasion.11) N-COUNT A spread is two pages of a book, magazine, or newspaper that are opposite each other when you open it at a particular place.There was a double-page spread of a dinner for 46 people.
Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
