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stretch

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

strehch
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈstɹɛtʃ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body

    “Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours.”

  2. transitive

    To lengthen by pulling.

  3. intransitive

    To extend physically, especially from a limit point and/or to a limit point.

  4. figurativelytransitive

    To get more use than expected from a limited resource.

  5. Increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance

    “Stretch the soup by adding some more cream.”

  6. transitive

    To make great demands on the capacity or resources of something.

noun

  1. An act of stretching.

  2. The ability to lengthen when pulled.

  3. A course of thought which diverts from straightforward logic, or requires extraordinary belief or exaggeration.

  4. A length of time.

  5. ireland

    Extended daylight hours, especially said of the evening in springtime when compared to the shorter winter days.

  6. A segment of a journey or route.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

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How It’s Used

The word’s distinct uses, one example each.

  • Extendverb

    “Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours.”

  • Increaseverb

    “Stretch the soup by adding some more cream.”

More ways to use stretch

  • “The park stretched beneath the train line.”verb
  • “Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours.”verb
  • “Stretch the soup by adding some more cream.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

stretch forthstretch reflexmile stretch

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • stretchingnounInflected form

    Act of expanding by lengthening or widening.

  • stretchernounInflected form

    A wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • stretch marknounCompound term

    A narrow band resulting from tension on the skin (as on abdominal skin after pregnancy).

  • stretch outverbCompound term

    Extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length.

  • stretch pantsnounCompound term

    Trousers made of a stretchy fabric.

  • stretch receptornounCompound term

    A receptor in a muscle that responds to stretching of the muscle tissue.

  • stretch reflexnounCompound term

    Reflex contraction of a muscle when an attached tendon is pulled.

  • stretcher-bearernounCompound term

    One who helps carry a stretcher.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: extend one's limbs or muscles

stretch outelongatereach

noun

Sense: stretching

reachreaching

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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.