What does "stretcher" mean?
Someone or something that stretches.
Stretcher
/ˈstɹɛt͡ʃə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone or something that stretches.
- Grammar: stretcher is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bed, brick, bunk, capstone.
- Useful contrasts: bed, disembark, header.
- Usage evidence: Crutches are pretty tricky ... "Excuse me, stretcher coming through!"
How to use "stretcher"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stretcher" 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 "stretcher" 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 "stretcher" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stretcher" 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 "stretcher" 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 "bed" 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 "stretcher", 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 Someone or something that stretches.
- 2 a stone that forms the top of wall or building wordnet
- 3 A simple litter designed to carry a sick, injured, or dead person.
"This done, he sank on to a stretcher, and glanced meditatively about the room."
- 4 a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles wordnet
- 5 A frame on which a canvas is stretched for painting.
"A twelve-by-fourteen canvas would not pin in his box, so he had to make a stretcher for it, and very neatly he made it, out of strips of butter-box."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes or gloves) by stretching it wordnet
- 7 A device to stretch shoes or gloves.
- 8 a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting wordnet
- 9 A brick laid with the longest (but least tall) side exposed.
"The quoins should be two feet long and one foot broad on the bed, and regularly built, stretcher and header alternately"
- 10 A piece of timber used in building.
- 11 A lie; an overstretching of the truth. slang
- 12 A board against which a rower places his feet.
"The jointed stretcher is used in place of the sectional bottom board, with two sideboards, one each side of stretcher. The boat set up this way only weights 20 pounds, and makes a very convenient boat for trout-fishing, duck-hunting, or exploring in ponds or streams where the paddle will do as well as the oars."
- 13 One of the rods in an umbrella, attached at one end to one of the ribs, and at the other to the tube sliding upon the handle.
- 14 A penis, especially a long penis. obsolete
"When our mutual trance was a little over, and the young fellow had withdrawn that delicious stretcher, with which he had most plentifully drowned all thoughts of revenge in the sense of actual pleasure, the widen'd wounded passage refunded a stream of pearly liquids, which flowed down my thighs, mixed with streaks of blood"
Verb
- 1 To carry (an injured person) on a stretcher. transitive
"Claire Elise Tisdall, a volunteer nurse working in London, watched as a soldier was strechered past her one night."
Example
"Crutches are pretty tricky ... "Excuse me, stretcher coming through!""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stretcher"?
Common synonyms include: bed, brick, bunk, capstone, carry, convey.
How do you use "stretcher" in a sentence?
Crutches are pretty tricky ... "Excuse me, stretcher coming through!"
How do you pronounce "stretcher"?
Pronounced /ˈstɹɛt͡ʃə/.
Etymology
From stretch + -er.