Collins English-English Dictionary

spread [sprεd]

1. 1. vb to extend or unfold or be extended or unfolded to the fullest width

   she spread the map on the table

2. 2. vb to extend or cause to extend over a larger expanse of space or time

   the milk spread all over the floor

   the political unrest spread over several years

3. 3. vb to apply or be applied in a coating

   butter does not spread very well when cold

4. 4. vb to distribute or be distributed over an area or region

5. 5. vb to display or be displayed in its fullest extent

   the landscape spread before us

6. 6. vt. [tr] to prepare (a table) for a meal

7. 7. vt. [tr] to lay out (a meal) on a table

8. 8. vt. to send or be sent out in all directions; disseminate or be disseminated

   someone has been spreading rumours

   the disease spread quickly

9. 9. vt. (of rails, wires, etc) to force or be forced apart

10. 10. vt. to increase the breadth of (a part), esp to flatten the head of a rivet by pressing, hammering, or forging

11. 11. vt. [tr] [agriculture] to lay out (hay) in a relatively thin layer to dry

12. 12. vt. to scatter (seed, manure, etc) over a relatively wide area

13. 13. vt. [tr; often foll by around] [Spoken] to make (oneself) agreeable to a large number of people, often of the opposite sex

14. 14. vt. [phonetics] to narrow and lengthen the aperture of (the lips) as for the articulation of a front vowel, such as (iː) in English see (si:)

15. 15. n the act or process of spreading; diffusion, dispersal, expansion, etc

    the spread of the Christian religion

16. 16. n [Spoken] the wingspan of an aircraft

17. 17. n an extent of space or time; stretch

    a spread of 50 years

18. 18. n [Spoken] [chiefly US and Canadian] a ranch or relatively large tract of land

19. 19. n the limit of something fully extended

    the spread of a bird's wings

20. 20. n a covering for a table or bed

21. 21. n [Spoken] a large meal or feast, esp when it is laid out on a table

22. 22. n a food which can be spread on bread, etc

    salmon spread

23. 23. n two facing pages in a book or other publication

24. 24. n a widening of the hips and waist

    middle-age spread

25. 25. n [stock exchange] the difference between the bid and offer prices quoted by a market maker

26. 26. n the excess of the price at which stock is offered for public sale over the price paid for the same stock by an underwriter

27. 27. n [chiefly US] a double option - Compare straddle

28. 28. n [jewellery] the apparent size of a gemstone when viewed from above expressed in carats

    a diamond with a spread of four carats

29. 29. adj extended or stretched out, esp to the fullest extent

30. 30. adj (of a gem) shallow and flat

31. 31. adj [phonetics] (of the lips) forming a long narrow aperture

32. 32. adj (of speech sounds) articulated with spread lips

    (I:) in English ``feel'' is a spread vowel

33. 33. adj [Etymology] Old English sprædan; related to Old High German spreiten to spread, Old Lithuanian sprainas stiff