stretch

/stɹɛt͡ʃ/

verb 14
noun 17
forms 11
phrases 6

verb14

•
To lengthen by pulling.
- I stretched the rubber band until it almost broke.
•
to reach the arms or legs out as far as possible, often to make the body feel less tight
- I always stretch my muscles before exercising.
- When the cat woke up, it yawned and stretched.
•
To extend physically, especially from a limit point and/or to a limit point.
- The beach stretches from Cresswell to Amble.
•
To lengthen when pulled.
- The rubber band stretched almost to the breaking point.
•
To make a pulse or particle bunch longer by applying dispersion to it.
- Diffraction gratings are by far the most common elements used to stretch and compress pulses because of their substantial angular dispersion, […] — 2019
•
(figurative) To get more use than expected from a limited resource.
- I managed to stretch my coffee supply a few more days.
•
To make great demands on the capacity or resources of something.
- Her bizarre explanation really stretches credulity.
•
(figurative) To make inaccurate by exaggeration.
- To say crossing the street was brave is stretching the meaning of "brave" considerably.
- To say he's been to this park a million times is stretching the numbers. The true number is around 30 or 40.
•
To increase.
- Yakubu took advantage of John Ruddy's error to put the visitors back in front, with Chris Samba's header stretching their advantage. — 2011
•
To increase, to grow.
- As I sat in the waiting room, the minutes stretched into hours.
•
To pull tight.
- First, stretch the skin over the frame of the drum.
•
To sail by the wind under press of canvas.
- The ship stretched to the eastward.
(informal, no longer used) To stretch the truth; to exaggerate.
(slang, no longer used) To execute by hanging.

noun17

•
An act of stretching.
- I was right in the middle of a stretch when the phone rang.
•
A segment of a journey or route.
- It was an easy trip except for the last stretch, which took forever.
- It's a tough stretch of road in the winter, especially without chains.
A segment or length of material.
The homestretch, the final straight section of the track leading to the finish.
•
A course of thought which diverts from straightforward logic, or requires extraordinary belief or exaggeration.
- It's a bit of a stretch to call Boris Karloff a comedian.
- To say crossing the street was brave was quite a stretch.
•
A length of time.
- After the harvest there was a stretch of clear dry weather, and the animals toiled harder than ever […] — 1943
The period of the season between the trade deadline and the beginning of the playoffs.
A single uninterrupted sitting; a turn.
•
(slang) A jail or prison term.
- He did a seven-year stretch in jail.
(slang) A jail or prison term of one year's duration.
•
The ability to lengthen when pulled.
- That rubber band has quite a bit of stretch.
Ellipsis of stretch limousine.
•
(informal) Term of address for a tall person.
- Amelia: I mean, you're already a dwarf. Gura: Oh, OK, Stretch. — 2024
•
(Ireland) Extended daylight hours, especially said of the evening in springtime when compared to the shorter winter days.
- There is a grand stretch in the evenings.
A quick pitching delivery used when runners are on base where the pitcher slides his leg instead of lifting it.
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.
(slang, no longer used) A walk.

forms

straight · straught · strecht · stretch'd · stretched · stretcht · stretchedst · stretching · stretches · stretcheth · stretchest

Phrases with stretch