splay /spleɪ/verb 8noun 5adjective 3adverb 2forms 5 verb8 •To spread, spread apart, or spread out (something); to expand.The Lydian maiden in her web did portray to her full / […] / Asteriee struggling with an Erne which did away hir beare, / And ouer Leda she had made a Swan his wings to splay. — 1567 •To spread out awkwardly; to sprawl. •To construct a bevel or slope on (something, such as the frame or jamb of a door or window); to bevel, to slant, to slope. •To have, or lie in, an oblique or slanted position. •To rearrange (a splay tree) so that a desired element is placed at the root. •To dislocate (a body part such as a shoulder bone). •Synonym of spay (“to destroy or remove the ovaries and/or uterus (of a female animal) to prevent pregnancy”).[T]o say nothing of the knovvn practice of splaying Svvine and Bitches; […] — 1663 •(no longer used) To unfurl or unroll (a banner or flag).Ye grounde yow vpon Godfrey, that grysly gargons face, / Your stondarde, Syr Olifranke, agenst me for to splay: […] — 1530 noun5 •An outward spread of an object such as a bowl or cup. •[before a noun] A bevel, slant, or slope, especially of the frame or jamb of a door or window, by which an opening is made larger at one face of the wall than at the other, or larger at each of the faces than it is between them. •A widening of a minor road where it forms a junction with a major road to ensure that the view of traffic on the major road by drivers on the minor road is not obstructed. •The view to the left or right which a driver on a minor road has of traffic on the major road; also, a plan showing this. •[before a noun] The amount of such a bevel, slant, or slope. adjective3 •Oblique, slanted. •Turned outward; spread out.to sit splay-legged •Crooked, distorted, out of place.splay shoulders adverb2 •In an oblique or slanted manner; obliquely, slantedly. •Of walking, etc.: with the feet turned outwards; in a splayfooted manner. formssplayed · splaying · splays · more splay · most splay