I.
noun
1 area of land or water
ADJECTIVE
▪ great , huge , large , long , open , vast , wide
▪
A great ~ of ocean lay beneath them.
▪ 15-mile , half-mile , etc.
▪ narrow , short , small
▪ straight
▪
a straight ~ of road
▪ continuous , unbroken
▪ beautiful , lovely
▪ deserted , empty , lonely
▪
an empty ~ of beach
▪ fast
▪ dangerous , hazardous
▪ coastal
▪
a wild uninhabited coastal ~
▪ final
▪
She felt a renewed burst of energy for the final ~.
PREPOSITION
▪ along a/the ~
▪
There are tailbacks along a ten-mile ~ of the road.
▪ on a/the ~
▪
The festival is being held on a ~ of parkland near the river.
▪ ~ of
PHRASES
▪ the home ~ ( esp. AmE )
▪
The presidential race has now entered the home ~. ( figurative )
2 period of time
ADJECTIVE
▪ long
▪ short
▪ final
▪
The students have now entered the final ~ of their course.
▪ three-year , two-week , etc.
▪ rough , tough (both AmE )
▪
He went through a tough ~ last year but things are better now.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
▪
She had been unhappy for long ~es of her life.
PHRASES
▪ at a ~
▪
He worked for three days and nights at a ~.
3 stretching
ADJECTIVE
▪ good
▪ gentle
VERB + STRETCH
▪ do
▪
First let's warm up by doing some ~es.
▪ have
▪
Have a good ~ from time to time to prevent yourself getting stiff.
▪ hold
▪
Hold the ~ for a count of ten.
PHRASES
▪ at full ~
▪
Her arms were at full ~.
II.
verb
1 pull sth tight
ADVERB
▪ taut , tautly ( AmE ), tight , tightly
▪
Make sure that the rope is ~ed tight.
▪
Stretch the fabric tightly over the frame.
PREPOSITION
▪ across , between , over
▪
Striped awnings had been ~ed across the courtyard.
2 your body/part of the body
ADVERB
▪ gently
▪ lazily , luxuriously
▪
He stirred and ~ed lazily.
▪ full-length
▪
Andrea turned out the light and ~ed full-length on the bed.
▪ down , forward , out , up , upwards/upward
▪
She ~ed up to reach the top shelf.
PREPOSITION
▪ on
▪
He ~ed out on the couch and watched TV.
PHRASES
▪ ~ and yawn , yawn and ~
▪
She sat up, yawning and ~ing.
3 cover a large area
ADVERB
▪ far
▪
The wood does not ~ very far.
▪ endlessly , forever
▪
The fields ~ed forever into the distance.
▪ ahead , away
▪
The road ~ed ahead.
VERB + STRETCH
▪ seem to
▪
The beach seemed to ~ endlessly.
PREPOSITION
▪ along
▪ beyond
▪ from , to
▪
an area which ~es from London to the north
▪ for
▪
The beach ~es for five miles.
▪ into
▪
A line of cars ~ed into the distance.
4 continue over a period of time
ADVERB
▪ endlessly
▪
The future ~ed out endlessly in front of me.
▪ back , out
▪
The town's history ~es back to before 1700.
PREPOSITION
▪ before
▪
Endless summer days ~ed out before us.
▪ into
▪
The talks look set to ~ into a second week.
5 your ability/intelligence
ADVERB
▪ really
▪ severely
▪
The increase in demand has severely ~ed our resources.
▪ fully
▪
We can't take on any more work—we're fully ~ed as it is.
▪ thin , thinly
▪
Don't ~ yourself too thin financially.
▪
Our forces are too thinly ~ed to control the chaos.
▪ financially ( esp. BrE )
▪
Both parties have financially ~ed themselves by taking on substantial mortgages.
PREPOSITION
▪ to
▪
This department is ~ed to its limit.
Stretch is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ beach , ↑ coast , ↑ coastline , ↑ desert , ↑ district , ↑ forest , ↑ horizon , ↑ mouth , ↑ muscle , ↑ queue , ↑ road , ↑ silence
Stretch is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ back , ↑ budget , ↑ credulity , ↑ definition , ↑ finance , ↑ finger , ↑ imagination , ↑ leg , ↑ limb , ↑ limit , ↑ mile , ↑ mind , ↑ muscle , ↑ nerve , ↑ patience , ↑ resource , ↑ truth , ↑ wing , ↑ wire