Stretching
//ˈstɹɛt͡ʃɪŋ// adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act by which something is stretched. countable, uncountable
"[Skins] must be submitted to several washings, treadings, and stretchings, before they acquire the necessary pliancy."
- 2 act of expanding by lengthening or widening wordnet
- 3 A form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle (or muscle group) is deliberately elongated to its fullest length in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone. countable, uncountable
- 4 exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent wordnet
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of stretch form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
- 1 Requiring a high level of effort or performance.
Example
More examples"The ballerinas around the walls are stretching their legs and feet so their muscles will not become stiff."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English strecching, strecchinge, equivalent to stretch + -ing.
Etymology 2
From Middle English strecchinge, strecchynge, from Old English streċċende, from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjandī, present participle of *strakkjan (“to stretch”), equivalent to stretch + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "stretching"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.