to extend or protract (a story, etc) by including superfluous detail; prolong
to spend or pass (time)
to contrive to cause (money, etc) to last as long as possible
Protract or prolong, as in They spun out the negotiations over a period of months . This idiom alludes to drawing out a thread by spinning. [c. 1600]
Rotate out of control, as in The car spun out and crashed into the store window . [Mid-1900s]
First recorded in 1950–55; noun use of verb phrase spin out
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shares have performed well since their spin-out from DuPont in November.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
“Lastly, we believe that the recently announced spin-out of FedEx Freight into a standalone company should serve as a value-unlocking event and will put more scrutiny on the operations of the Freight segment,” they write.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
A UCL spin-out, AtoCap, is currently developing ways to deliver drugs inside cells to target pathogens hiding there.
From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2023
The product - suitably called Cheese from Peas - has been developed by researchers from the University of Nottingham and spin-out company The Good Pulse Company, which was founded by Mr Torres.
From BBC • Oct. 19, 2023
On my mark it is T minus thirty minutes to spin-out check.
From Where I Wasn't Going by Richmond, Walt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
