spreader

American  

[spred-er] / ˈsprɛd ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that spreads.

2. a small, dull knife or spatula used for spreading butter, jelly, etc., on bread.

3. a machine for dispersing bulk material.

   manure spreader.

4. a device for spacing or keeping apart two objects, as electric wires.

5. Nautical. a strut for spreading shrouds on a mast.

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spreader British  

/ ˈsprɛdə /

noun

1. a machine or device used for scattering bulk materials, esp manure or fertilizer, over a relatively wide area

2. a device for keeping apart or spacing parallel objects, such as electric wires

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antispreader
  noun

Etymology

Origin of spreader

First recorded in 1475–85; spread + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Chief executive Susan Hopkins previously said it looked as though there had been a super spreader event, with the outbreak ongoing within university halls of residences, where there would have been parties and social mixing.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Culex are more interested in biting birds rather than humans and are California’s primary spreader of West Nile virus.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Like Henry Ford before him, Elon Musk has emerged as America’s top conspiracy spreader.

From Salon • May 5, 2024

In contrast, several bites from the human flea, Pulex irritans, are required to transmit the bacteria, making it a less potent spreader of plague but still a threat.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

I concentrated on the rows, and watched the spreader and the gray fertilizer sifting down from the hopper onto the soil.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien