I. ˈspred verb
( spread ; spread ; spreading ; spreads )
Etymology: Middle English spreden, from Old English sprǣdan; akin to Old High German spreiten to spread, Middle Low German & Middle Dutch spreiden, sprēden, Old Swedish sprēda; causative from the root of an intransitive verb represented by Old High German sprītan to spread, Swedish sprida; akin to Old English sprūtan to sprout — more at sprout
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to open out or extend over a larger area (as by unfurling, flattening out, or pulling taut) : expand
spread a carpet
a ship with all sails spread
hammered the metal to spread it
— often used with out
spread out the newspaper
spread out the roots carefully — Emily Holt
city spread out on a level terrain — American Guide Series: N. H.
b. : to cause to reach or thrust out : stretch out : extend
spreading her arms wide to embrace him
spreads its wings for flight
a tree spreading its branches
spread his hands, palms down on the table — Gilbert Millstein
c.
(1) : to expose (one's hand or remaining cards) for the purpose of claiming all or some of the tricks yet to be played
(2) : to lay down (a combination of cards having value under the rules of the game) : show , meld
2.
a. : to distribute over an area : scatter , strew
spread fertilizer over the soil
buildings … are spread around this central point — American Guide Series: Texas
has its armed forces spread thinly all over the globe — Wall Street Journal
b. : to distribute over a period of time : prolong , protract
spread the cost of medical care
the work had to be spread over several weekends
specifically : to distribute (a limited amount of work) among as many workers and for as long as possible by shortening the work hours in a day or reducing the work days in a week
c. : to apply on a surface as an overlayer or cover
spread butter on bread
the varnish was spread on every exposed part — Ben Riker
d.
(1) : to cover or overlay with
spread the floor with carpet
(2) archaic : to cover or extend over completely : overrun
the velvet down that spreads his cheek — Thomas Moore
e.
(1) : to prepare or furnish (as a table) for dining : set
spread the board
spread the tables with the favorite dishes of their absent husbands — J.G.Frazer
(2) : to lay out or set down (as a meal) : serve
spread afternoon tea for us — Eve Langley
supper was spread — Thomas Hardy
f. : record , enter
moved … that the foregoing resolution be spread upon the minutes — Science
3.
a. : to make more widely known : publish , disseminate
spread the news
spread a man's fame
spread the most glowing reports — T.B.Costain
b. : to cause to affect an increasing number : extend the range or incidence of
spread a disease
spread the habit of smoking — Olive Haseltine
puerperal infection could be spread in this way — Justina Hill
c. : diffuse
spread an effluvium
: emit
the hyacinth spreading its fragrance
4.
a. : to push apart by weight or force : make wider and flatter
the locomotive spreads the rails
spread a plate … and had to be shod in the paddock — Richard Lane
b. : to separate (the lips) laterally and bring (them) close together vertically (as in the pronunciation of ee in see ) — compare round VI 1c
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to become dispersed, distributed, or scattered : flow out readily
the rioters spread throughout the city
the odor spreads through the room
a thin paint that spreads well
b. : to become known more widely : circulate
the news spread
the new ideas were spreading — Tom Wintringham
c. : to increase in range, incidence, or influence
the disease spread through the island
the panic spread rapidly
the academy idea had begun to spread — J.P.Marquand
2.
a. : to extend, grow, or stretch out in length or breadth : cover a greater area : expand
the city spreads over five square miles — American Guide Series: Michigan
the consequences of any big war spread in circles to infinity — Dixon Wecter
the shadow spread across her face — Maude Hutchins
b. : to extend tendrils, shoots, or new growth : unfold
a vine remarkable for its tendency not to spread and ramble — Willa Cather
c. : to become extended by heating, drawing, or compressing
d. : to project oneself into new activities
he spread out into other fields
3. : to move apart (as from pressure or weight) : separate
rails spreading under the great weight
the servant's mouth spread in a placating grin — T.B.Costain
Synonyms:
disseminate , propagate , circulate , radiate , diffuse : spread , in the sense of broadcasting, publicizing, or making or becoming known widely, is without strong connotation, although it may suggest a scattered strewing
scattered broadcast over the country at government expense, the report did much to spread knowledge of the northwest coast — R.A.Billington
the taste for reading … slowly spread out toward the lonely clearings to the west — J.D.Hart
disseminate means and suggests about the same things as spread; it may connote the notion of a hoped-for useful fruition as of seed sown
the need for a cooperative agency in the iron and steel industry for collecting and disseminating statistics and information — J.W.Hill
propagate , applicable to complexes of notions rather than to specific facts or bits of information, may suggest fostering growth by making widespread and increasing the number of possible adherents
mechanical societies sprang into existence, to propagate the creed with greater zeal — Lewis Mumford
the outlandish philosophies that later sectaries were to propagate so diligently — V.L.Parrington
circulate may suggest a passing from person to person as though in a circle and thus to become widely known
this silly story that people are circulating — Thomas Hardy
the satire, circulating in manuscript copies, had a great local vogue — E.V.Lucas
radiate suggests sending out along radii from a nucleus; it is more likely to apply to matters affective than intellectual
a unity of inspiration that radiates into plot and personages alike — T.S.Eliot
the comments of Arthur Brisbane … radiated no warmth — A.W.Long
diffuse suggests to make known widely with permeation into small areas or crannies and an overall tingeing effect
the drive behind the American ideal of a universally diffused education — Perry Miller
once literacy has been generally diffused among the masses of a society, it tends to become indispensable — Helen Sullivan
•
- spread oneself
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act or process of spreading : expansion , extension , diffusion
the spread of wax under a seal
the spread of the great metropolis — London Calling
the spread of the plague through the city
a gradual spread of parliamentary democracy — Bertrand Russell
b. : the extent or capability of spreading
the spread of a sail
elm … with a spread of 146 feet — American Guide Series: Connecticut
c.
(1) : dispersion 2a
(2) : a continuous assemblage usually of points in mathematics
curves that are one-way spreads
2. : something spread out: as
a. : a surface area : expanse
the giant spread of land — A.B.Guthrie
b. West
(1) : a ranch with all its appurtenances
a cattle spread
(2) : an expanse of range
a spread of 100,000 acres
(3) : a herd of animals
winter a spread of 10,000 sheep
c. : the surface of a cut stone (as a diamond) in relation to its depth
d.
(1) : a prominent display usually occupying more than one column and especially having pictorial illustration in a newspaper or periodical
(2) : two facing pages (as of a magazine or newspaper) printed with matter that usually runs across the fold (as a single advertisement or picture or part of an article to be read as a single page) ; also : the matter occupying these two facing pages
e. : spreadhead
f.
(1) : laydown
(2) : an intentional exposure (as for the purpose of claiming tricks) of a player's entire hand
(3) : a combination of cards in rummy that can be or is melded : set
(4) : the act of melding such a combination
3. : something spread on or over a surface: as
a. : a food (as butter, jam, jelly, fruit or peanut butter, or deviled meat) used or made for use to spread on bread or crackers
cheese spread
b. : a usually sumptuous meal : feast , banquet
a gigantic spread in honor of the visiting prince — Robert Shaplen
c. : a plain or decorative cloth used as a cover for a table or a bed
4. : the distance between two points : gap , divergence
the wide spread between theory and fact
as
a. : the distance between the forelegs of certain quadrupeds (as dogs)
b. : distance from center to center (as of the cylinders of a duplex pump) in machinery
c. : the distance between gage lines at the heel or toe of a railroad frog
d. : span
e.
(1) : the difference between what the producer is paid for a product and what the consumer pays for it
(2) : the difference between the highest and lowest price of a product for a given period
(3) : straddle
f.
(1) : an option in a put and call in which the put price is different from the call price so that no profit is made unless the price falls or rises below or above the put or call price respectively by more than enough to cover the cost of the option
(2) : an arbitrage transaction operated by buying and selling simultaneously in two separate markets (as Chicago and New York) when there is an abnormal difference in price between the two markets — see backspread
(3) : the difference between bid and asked prices
(4) : the difference between any two prices for similar articles
the spread between the list price and the market price of an article
g. : deviation f
5. : something that spreads or fans out: as
a. : a salvo of torpedoes fired just ahead, at, and just abaft the target to ensure a hit
b. : spread formation
c. : a shot in billiards in which the cue ball is made to rebound from the object ball at a considerable angle to its original course
III. adjective
Etymology: from past participle of spread (I)
1. : widely extended : expanded
2. : extending across two or more columns of a newspaper or periodical
a two-page spread advertisement
3. : having insufficient depth so that its luster is below standard — used of a gem
IV. noun
: point spread herein