Showing results for "span"

• past participle of spin.
• past tense form of spin.

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• span
  span

  noun

  the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.
• Span.
  Span.

  abbreviation

  Spaniard.

span

¹ American  

[span] / spæn /

noun

1. the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.

2. a unit of length corresponding to this distance, commonly taken as 9 inches (23 centimeters).

3. a distance, amount, piece, etc., of this length or of some small extent.

   a span of lace.

4. Civil Engineering, Architecture.

   1. the distance between two supports of a structure.

   2. the structure so supported.

   3. the distance or space between two supports of a bridge.

5. the full extent, stretch, or reach of anything.

   a long span of memory.

6. Aeronautics. the distance between the wing tips of an airplane.

7. a limited space of time, as the term or period of living.

   Our span on earth is short.

8. Mathematics. the smallest subspace of a vector space that contains a given element or set of elements.

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verb (used with object)

spanned, spanning

1. to measure by the hand with the thumb and little finger extended.

2. to encircle with the hand or hands, as the waist.

3. to extend over or across (a section of land, a river, etc.).

4. to provide with something that extends over.

   to span a river with a bridge.

5. to extend or reach over (space or time).

   a memory that spans 90 years.

6. Mathematics. to function (in a subspace of a vector space) as a span.

7. Archery. to bend (the bow) in preparation for shooting.

span ² American  

[span] / spæn /

noun

1. a pair of horses or other animals harnessed and driven together.

   Synonyms:

   team

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span ³ American  

[span] / spæn /

verb

Archaic.

1. a simple past tense of spin.

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Span. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Spaniard.

2. Spanish.

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span ¹ British  

/ spæn /

noun

1. the interval, space, or distance between two points, such as the ends of a bridge or arch

2. the complete duration or extent

   the span of his life

3. psychol the amount of material that can be processed in a single mental act

   apprehension span

   span of attention

4. short for wingspan

5. a unit of length based on the width of an expanded hand, usually taken as nine inches

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verb

1. to stretch or extend across, over, or around

2. to provide with something that extends across or around

   to span a river with a bridge

3. to measure or cover, esp with the extended hand

Span. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Spanish

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span ³ British  

/ spæn /

noun

1. a team of horses or oxen, esp two matched animals

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span ⁴ British  

/ spæn /

verb

1. archaic a past tense of spin

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span Idioms  

1. see spick and span.

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Synonym Usage

See pair.

Etymology

Origin of span¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun spanne, sponne, spayn, Old English span(n), spon(n); cognate with German Spanne, Dutch span, Old Norse spǫnn; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of span²

An Americanism dating to 1760–70; from Dutch: “team (of oxen, horses)”

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Explanation

Any distance between two things is called a span. These end points can be physical, like the span of a rope between two trees, or they can be more abstract, such as the span of time between five and six o'clock. Span comes from the Old English spann, the width of the stretched-out hand, measured from thumb to little finger. It came to refer to various other measurements, such as the distance across an arch. The first reference to a length of time came in the late 16th century, and the phrase "attention span" first appeared in 1922 (as "span of attention").

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

span Span. spanned spanning

The fitness entrepreneur, 46, shared an AI-generated rendering of the planned residence on Instagram, revealing that it will span between 12,000 and 13,000 square feet.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

The primary frustration has been the failure to clear encampments—clusters of makeshift structures that can span the length of half a city block.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

John McKinney, brought in nearly $150,000 in donations and public funding over that same one-month span, bringing his runoff campaign to nearly $670,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

The allegations span a 10-year period from 1999 to 2009 and involve six female complainants.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

It was evening when he’d woven enough rope to span the river.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

From the Ital. melagrana, a pomegranate; Span. granada. 

From The Bible in Spain - Vol. 2 [of 2] by George Henry Borrow

In alligator, Span. el lagarto, the lizard, from Lat. lacertus, we have the Spanish definite article.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

Cambodge, Cambodia, and indigo is from Span. indico, Indian.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

Comrade is from Fr. camarade, and this from Span. camarada, originally a "room-full," called in the French army une chambrée.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

A term of endearment or familiar address, something like the Span. tio, uncle.

From The Bible in Spain - Vol. 2 [of 2] by George Henry Borrow

Reports of the freezer tampering spanned the continent from Portugal to Estonia, hitting smaller independent retailers as well as big chains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

In a career that spanned seven decades, Sir Patrick received multiple awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The acclaimed actor, whose career spanned 60 years in film, television and stage, cemented his place in the hearts of audiences and his peers in the industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Some were snooty, some attracted particular athletic groups, and some just spanned a spectrum of kids who enjoyed associating with each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

It was built into a white arch formed by two monumental stone wolves on their hind legs, and spanned the road leading up the hill to the Court.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Outlander ended in the summer after a 12-year run spanning eight seasons.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Singer and Jonathan Pollock, the firm’s two chief executives and chief investment officers, run one of the hedge-fund industry’s largest pools of capital, deployed across strategies spanning activist campaigns, buyouts, distressed-debt investing and commodities trading.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Cases have likewise been detected in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, with the World Health Organization warning that Africa faces a "complex" task to contain an outbreak spanning the east, west and centre of the continent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Using the revised position of ancient Qufu, the researchers obtained improved constraints on Earth's rotation during the period spanning the eighth through sixth centuries BCE.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

If you keep searching, you’ll find connections spanning many years, each offering a small piece of the story.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

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