What does "spread" mean?
The act of spreading.
Spread
/spɹɛd/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of spreading.
- Grammar: spread is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: banquet, circulate, diffuse, disseminate.
- Useful contrasts: organized data, steady focus during study, ball.
- Usage evidence: A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration.
How to use "spread"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spread" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spread" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spread" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spread" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spread" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "banquet" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spread", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of spreading. countable, uncountable
"No flower hath that kind of spread that the woodbine hath."
- 2 An act or instance of spreading (speedreading).
"If debate is a game, then the execution of a "spread" is like a well-timed blitz in football. Convincing a judge that your opponents' arguments would cause human extinction is equivalent to a successful Hail Mary pass."
- 3 act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time wordnet
- 4 Something that has been spread. countable, uncountable
- 5 decorative cover for a bed wordnet
Show 31 more definitions
- 6 A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading. countable, uncountable
- 7 farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle) wordnet
- 8 An expanse of land. countable, uncountable
"November 29, 1712, Andrew Freeport, a letter to The Spectator I have got a fine spread of improvable lands."
- 9 a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures wordnet
- 10 A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch. countable, uncountable
"- Can't wait till I get my own spread and won't have to put up with Joe Aguirre's crap no more."
- 11 a haphazard distribution in all directions wordnet
- 12 A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread). countable, uncountable
"Linen shawls and spreads show up in secondhand clothing stores like those in the row on St. Marks Place in New York City."
- 13 the expansion of a person's girth (especially at middle age) wordnet
- 14 A large meal, especially one laid out on a table. countable, uncountable
- 15 two facing pages of a book or other publication wordnet
- 16 Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams. countable, uncountable, usually
"Ferd liked to experiment with sandwich spreads ― the one he liked most was cream-cheese, olives, anchovy and avocado, mashed up with a little mayonnaise ― but Oscar always had the same pink luncheon-meat."
- 17 process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space wordnet
- 18 A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships. countable, uncountable
"Johnston, meanwhile, has managed to get within five miles of its target, and fires a full spread of ten torpedoes. Minutes later, at least two, possibly three, tear the bow off the hapless cruiser Kumano. First blood, unbelievably, therefore, goes to the Americans."
- 19 a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed wordnet
- 20 Food improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food. slang, uncountable
- 21 a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers or used in preparing other dishes wordnet
- 22 An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page. countable, uncountable
- 23 Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc. countable, uncountable
- 24 A numerical difference. countable, uncountable
- 25 A measure of how far the data tend to deviate from the average. countable, uncountable
"The spread is usually measured using standard deviation and variance."
- 26 The difference between the wholesale and retail prices. countable, uncountable
- 27 The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity. countable, uncountable
- 28 The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity. countable, uncountable
- 29 The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity. countable, uncountable
- 30 An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies. countable, uncountable
- 31 The difference between bidding and asking price. countable, uncountable
- 32 The difference between the prices of two similar items. countable, uncountable
- 33 An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points. countable, uncountable
- 34 The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone. countable, uncountable
- 35 Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper. countable, uncountable
- 36 The difference between the teams' final scores at the end of a sport match. countable, uncountable
"College basketball games don't lack for gambling propositions—the moneyline, a straightforward wager on which team will win; the over-under gamble on the total number of points scored by both teams—but the most popular wager is the spread. The spread represents the predicted difference between the two teams in the final score of the game."
Verb
- 1 To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. transitive
"He spread his newspaper on the table."
- 2 To speedread; to recite one's arguments at an extremely fast pace. intransitive, transitive
"You're assuming that if someone spreads they aren't a good orator. That's flawed logic."
- 3 cause to become widely known wordnet
- 4 To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. simple past and past participle of spread transitive
"I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home."
- 5 become widely known and passed on wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area. transitive
"I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor."
- 7 distribute or disperse widely wordnet
- 8 To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated. intransitive
"Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful."
- 9 become distributed or widespread wordnet
- 10 To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present. transitive
"The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country."
- 11 spread out or open from a closed or folded state wordnet
- 12 To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended. intransitive
"I dropped my glass; the water spread quickly over the tiled floor."
- 13 distribute over a surface in a layer wordnet
- 14 To smear, to distribute in a thin layer. transitive
"She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot."
- 15 cover by spreading something over wordnet
- 16 To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter. transitive
"He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam."
- 17 move outward wordnet
- 18 To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
"to spread a table"
- 19 strew or distribute over an area wordnet
- 20 To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours. intransitive, slang
"This often sounds like the rap of a demented DJ: the way she moves has got to be good news, can't get loose till I feel the juice— suck and spread, bitch, yeah bounce for me baby."
- 21 spread across or over wordnet
Adjective
- 1 distributed or spread over a considerable extent wordnet
- 2 fully extended in width wordnet
- 3 prepared or arranged for a meal; especially having food set out wordnet
Example
"A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spread"?
Common synonyms include: banquet, circulate, diffuse, disseminate, feast, propagate.
How do you use "spread" in a sentence?
A small forest fire can easily spread and quickly become a great conflagration.
How do you pronounce "spread"?
Pronounced /spɹɛd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English spreden, from Old English sprǣdan (“to spread, expand”), from Proto-Germanic *spraidijaną (“to spread”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spreede (“to spread”), West Frisian spriede (“to spread”), North Frisian spriedjen (“to spread”), Dutch spreiden (“to spread”), Low German spreden (“to spread”), German spreiten (“to spread, spread out”), Danish sprede (“to spread”), Norwegian spre, spreie (“to spread, disseminate”), Swedish sprida (“to spread”), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), Persian سپردن (sepordan, “to deposit”), English spurn.
Etymology 2
Blend of speed + read.