spread
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To stretch out, open out so that it more fully covers a given area of space.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sprehdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspɹɛd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space.
Distribute over a surface in a layer
transitive
To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
Spread out or open from a closed or folded state
Distribute or disperse widely
“The invaders spread their language all over the country.”
Strew or distribute over an area
noun
Act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time
A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.
An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.
Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.
A numerical difference.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Spread out or open from a closed or folded state
Used this way, spread is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use spread
- “The invaders spread their language all over the country.”verb
- “A big oil spot spread across the water.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space.
A hand tool for spreading something.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Move outward.
Form a cover over.
An emblem (an eagle with wings and legs spread) on the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States.
European perennial bellflower that grows in clumps with spreading stems and blue or white flowers.
North American perennial having pinkish flowers in loose cymes.
An enzyme (trade name Hyazyme) that splits hyaluronic acid and so lowers its viscosity and increases the permeability of connective tissue and the absorption of fluids.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.