Astretch

adv

adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    Stretched out, extended. not-comparable

    "A thing half dead, with weary arms astretch / For anything to cling to"

  2. 2
    Straining to perceive, alert (of sensory organs or mental faculties). not-comparable

    "1833, Hamlet Wood, The Negro: An Historical Poem […] describing the unchristian and wicked principle and practices of slavery, Burslem, UK: for the author, p. 41, […] with attentive gaze, As winds dispelled the dark’ning haze, My eyes astretch—and all my mind afloat, To learn what sort of beings filled the boat;"

Example

More examples

"A thing half dead, with weary arms astretch / For anything to cling to"

Etymology

From a- + stretch.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.