stretcher

American  

[strech-er] / ˈstrɛtʃ ər /

noun

• stretchers
  plural

1. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a kind of litter, often of canvas stretched on a frame, for carrying the sick, wounded, or dead.

   2. a similar litter on wheels, adapted for use in ambulances and hospitals.

2. a person or thing that stretches.

3. any of various instruments for extending, widening, distending, etc.

4. a bar, beam, or fabricated material, serving as a tie or brace.

5. Masonry. a brick or stone laid in a wall so that its longer edge is exposed or parallel to the surface.

6. a simple wooden framework on which the canvas for an oil painting is stretched.

7. Furniture.

   1. a framework connecting and bracing the legs of a piece of furniture.

   2. one member of this framework.

8. a crosspiece that is set athwart and near the bottom in a small boat, and against which the feet of a rower are braced.

9. one of the thin, sliding rods connecting the canopy and handle of an umbrella.

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verb (used with object)

• stretchers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stretchered,
  past participle,  past
• stretchering
  present participle

1. to stretch (canvas for a painting) on a stretcher.

stretcher British  

/ ˈstrɛtʃə /

noun

1. a device for transporting the ill, wounded, or dead, consisting of a frame covered by canvas or other material

2. a strengthening often decorative member joining the legs of a chair, table, etc

3. the wooden frame on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting

4. a tie beam or brace used in a structural framework

5. a brick or stone laid horizontally with its length parallel to the length of a wall Compare header

6. rowing a fixed board across a boat on which an oarsman braces his feet

7. a camp bed

8. slang an exaggeration or lie

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verb

1. to transport (a sick or injured person) on a stretcher

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stretchers
  plural

Participles

• stretchering
  present
• stretchered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stretcher
  simple
• stretchers
  simple
• have stretchered
  perfect
• has stretchered
  perfect
• am stretchering
  progressive
• are stretchering
  progressive
• is stretchering
  progressive
• have been stretchering
  perfect progressive
• has been stretchering
  perfect progressive

Past

• stretchered
  simple
• had stretchered
  perfect
• was stretchering
  progressive
• were stretchering
  progressive
• had been stretchering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stretcher
  simple
• will have stretchered
  perfect
• will be stretchering
  progressive
• will have been stretchering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of stretcher

First recorded in 1375–1425, stretcher is from the late Middle English word stretcher. See stretch, -er ¹

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Explanation

In a hospital, a stretcher is a device used to carry a person who must lie flat and can't move on their own. It takes two strong people to carry a patient on a stretcher. Although the words are sometimes used interchangeably, a stretcher is different from a gurney, which is fitted with wheels and can be moved by a single person. Stretchers are more portable and tend to be used in emergency situations, especially on battlefields and in wilderness search-and-rescue operations. When an artist, (rather than a doctor or ambulance driver) uses the word stretcher, they generally mean "wooden frame on which a canvas is stretched for painting."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stretcher stretchers stretchered

Video shows him being placed on a stretcher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

This includes receiving regular dialysis or cancer treatment, needing a stretcher or oxygen or needing to travel in their own wheelchair.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

But in October, it is being carried out on a stretcher.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

Hundreds of tents have occupied Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since she was taken away on a stretcher last month after the real estate company that owned her flat drastically hiked the rent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Guards followed Werfel through the crooked streets with the emissary on a stretcher.

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

Survivors disembarked a rescue boat at the French port of Calais in the mid-morning, some on stretchers and in wheelchairs, many wrapped in emergency blankets, an AFP correspondent said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Retrieving busted bots on stretchers, one of the Humanoid Games’ best visual gags, may actually have originated with her league.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

Laid out on makeshift stretchers, they were carried to a nearby ambulance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

The four men were then seen being laid on stretchers, covered by foil blankets, and receiving medical attention.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

On homemade stretchers, in wheelbarrows, on carts, slung across shoulders, and clenched tight in arms.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

It was so hot Nicolas Gonzalez, a fan sitting in the shade of the reserved level, saw a stadium attendant, overcome by heat, stretchered before the game even started.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The unused veteran was stretchered off and taken to hospital for surgery after hurting himself hurdling an advertising board in the victory celebrations.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The victory was marred only when star midfielder Ismaël Koné was stretchered off the pitch with a broken leg after going down from a hard tackle.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Cameron was stretchered off in the second half of the Hurricanes' 52-10 Super Rugby hammering of Moana Pasifika on Friday night, with coach Clark Laidlaw conceding "it didn't look good" for the classy one-Test playmaker.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

Pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was stretchered off after the bob hurtled down the track for a good 30 seconds on its side.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

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