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Stretch
Definitions
- 1 easily stretched wordnet
- 2 having an elongated seating area wordnet
- 1 An act of stretching. countable, uncountable
"I was right in the middle of a stretch when the phone rang."
- 2 the act of physically reaching or thrusting out wordnet
- 3 The ability to lengthen when pulled. countable, uncountable
"That rubber band has quite a bit of stretch."
- 4 extension to or beyond the ordinary limit wordnet
- 5 A course of thought which diverts from straightforward logic, or requires extraordinary belief or exaggeration. countable, uncountable
"It's a bit of a stretch to call Boris Karloff a comedian."
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- 6 exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent wordnet
- 7 A segment of a journey or route. countable, uncountable
"It was an easy trip except for the last stretch, which took forever."
- 8 a straightaway section of a racetrack wordnet
- 9 A segment or length of material. countable, uncountable
"a stretch of cloth"
- 10 the capacity for being stretched wordnet
- 11 A walk. UK, archaic, countable, slang, uncountable
"In the afternoon I went for a stretch into the country, & about 4 it cleared up pretty well, so I hurried back & we got a cart & drove to Bassano, a little town about 8 miles off, that we wanted to see."
- 12 a large and unbroken expanse or distance wordnet
- 13 A quick pitching delivery used when runners are on base where the pitcher slides his leg instead of lifting it. countable, uncountable
- 14 an unbroken period of time during which you do something wordnet
- 15 A long reach in the direction of the ball with a foot remaining on the base by a first baseman in order to catch the ball sooner. countable, uncountable
- 16 Term of address for a tall person. countable, informal, uncountable
"“Hey, Stretch,” he shouted at a tall, spectacled co-worker, “turn the fucking station, will you? You know I can't stand Rush, and it's all they play on this one. If I hear those assholes whine 'Tom Sawyer' one more time, I may go on a fucking killing spree."
- 17 The homestretch, the final straight section of the track leading to the finish. countable, uncountable
- 18 A length of time. countable, uncountable
"After the harvest there was a stretch of clear dry weather, and the animals toiled harder than ever […]"
- 19 A length of time.; Extended daylight hours, especially said of the evening in springtime when compared to the shorter winter days. Ireland, countable, uncountable
"There is a grand stretch in the evenings."
- 20 A length of time.; The period of the season between the trade deadline and the beginning of the playoffs. countable, uncountable
"The '42 Cardinals are best known for their amazing stretch run. St. Louis won 43 of their last 51 games and came back from a double-digit deficit in games in early August to edge out the Dodgers for the N.L. flag."
- 21 A length of time.; A jail or prison term. countable, slang, uncountable
""Of course, if Cripps likes to stay here and do a stretch for burglary, well and good.""
- 22 A length of time.; A jail or prison term.; A jail or prison term of one year's duration. countable, slang, uncountable
- 23 A length of time.; A single uninterrupted sitting; a turn. countable, uncountable
- 24 Ellipsis of stretch limousine. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
- 1 To lengthen by pulling. transitive
"I stretched the rubber band until it almost broke."
- 2 extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body wordnet
- 3 To lengthen when pulled. intransitive
"The rubber band stretched almost to the breaking point."
- 4 extend one's body or limbs wordnet
- 5 To pull tight. transitive
"First, stretch the skin over the frame of the drum."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance wordnet
- 7 To extend one’s limbs or another part of the body, for example in order to improve the elasticity of one's muscles. intransitive, transitive
"I always stretch my muscles before exercising."
- 8 become longer by being stretched and pulled wordnet
- 9 To extend physically, especially from a limit point and/or to a limit point. intransitive
"The beach stretches from Cresswell to Amble."
- 10 make long or longer by pulling and stretching wordnet
- 11 To get more use than expected from a limited resource. figuratively, transitive
"I managed to stretch my coffee supply a few more days."
- 12 corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones wordnet
- 13 To make inaccurate by exaggeration. figuratively, transitive
"To say crossing the street was brave is stretching the meaning of "brave" considerably."
- 14 extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly wordnet
- 15 To make great demands on the capacity or resources of something. transitive
"Her bizarre explanation really stretches credulity."
- 16 pull in opposite directions wordnet
- 17 To increase. transitive
"Yakubu took advantage of John Ruddy's error to put the visitors back in front, with Chris Samba's header stretching their advantage."
- 18 lie down comfortably wordnet
- 19 To increase, to grow. intransitive
"As I sat in the waiting room, the minutes stretched into hours."
- 20 extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length wordnet
- 21 To sail by the wind under press of canvas.
"The ship stretched to the eastward."
- 22 occupy a large, elongated area wordnet
- 23 To make a pulse or particle bunch longer by applying dispersion to it. transitive
"Diffraction gratings are by far the most common elements used to stretch and compress pulses because of their substantial angular dispersion, […]"
- 24 To execute by hanging. archaic, slang, transitive
- 25 To stretch the truth; to exaggerate. colloquial, intransitive, obsolete
"a man apt to stretch in his report of facts"
Etymology
From Middle English strecchen, from Old English streċċan (“to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out, prostrate”), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch, make taut or tight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)treg-, *streg-, *treg- (“stiff, rigid”). Cognate with West Frisian strekke, Dutch strekken (“to stretch, straighten”), German strecken (“to stretch, straighten, elongate”), Danish strække (“to stretch”), Swedish sträcka (“to stretch”), Dutch strak (“taut, tight”), Albanian shtriqem (“to stretch”). More at stark.
From Middle English strecchen, from Old English streċċan (“to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out, prostrate”), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch, make taut or tight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)treg-, *streg-, *treg- (“stiff, rigid”). Cognate with West Frisian strekke, Dutch strekken (“to stretch, straighten”), German strecken (“to stretch, straighten, elongate”), Danish strække (“to stretch”), Swedish sträcka (“to stretch”), Dutch strak (“taut, tight”), Albanian shtriqem (“to stretch”). More at stark.
See also for "stretch"
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