splay
Americanverb (used with object)
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to spread out, expand, or extend.
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to form with an oblique angle; make slanting; bevel.
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to make with a splay or splays.
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to disjoin; dislocate.
verb (used without object)
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to have an oblique or slanting direction.
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to spread or flare.
noun
adjective
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spread out; wide and flat; turned outward.
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clumsy or awkward.
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oblique or awry.
adjective
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spread out; broad and flat
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turned outwards in an awkward manner
verb
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to spread out; turn out or expand
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(tr) vet science to dislocate (a joint)
noun
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a surface of a wall that forms an oblique angle to the main flat surfaces, esp at a doorway or window opening
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enlargement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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splaysimple
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splayssimple
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have splayedperfect
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has splayedperfect
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am splayingprogressive
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are splayingprogressive
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is splayingprogressive
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have been splayingperfect progressive
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has been splayingperfect progressive
Past
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splayedsimple
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had splayedperfect
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was splayingprogressive
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were splayingprogressive
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had been splayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of splay
1300–50; Middle English; aphetic form of display
Explanation
To splay is to spread out or widen. Peacocks splay their feathers when they want to show off. Basketball players splay their fingers around a basketball to get a better grip. The word splay is often seen as splayed. If you collapse on your bed with your arms and legs stretched out, you are splayed out on the bed. Fingers, toes, arms, and legs can all splay. Something that has a splayed shape is called a splay, like an architectural detail around a window or door. Splay comes from the verb display, originally "unfurl, unfold, or spread out."
Vocabulary lists containing splay
The Hobbit
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One of Us Is Lying
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"The Ravine" by Graham Salisbury
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her legs splay, tilt and leap readily into pratfall action.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024
"These splay faults are closer to the coast, so these tsunamis will be faster to hit the coastline than a tsunami generated only from a subduction zone earthquake."
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024
Too many such cells caused the sepals to splay and expose the petals prematurely.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 23, 2023
Branches splay out widely and become roosting places for choirs of myna birds.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
His hounds splay on the rug before the fire.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
This is a woman who has the world where she wants it, and who laughs blithely throughout our chat – even when discussing the terrifying anxieties she nightly splays across the stage.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2019
Sediment that breaches the levees during flood stage is called crevasse splays delivering silt and clay into the floodplain.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
The anole splays its little lizard fingers to break its fall as it hurtles face-first onto the ground.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2014
Simmer the farro or spelt until it splays.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2014
It splays across the hot cement and dangles near the toes of her sneakers.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Inside a room filled with objects that would make every Apple nerd’s brain explode, the guts of the very first iPhone were splayed out in front of Tim Cook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
A diary of one of the actors — splayed open on the desk — read that she was grieving the loss of her future.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025
Villarreal: With a book of Rumi’s poetry splayed across her stomach, no less.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2025
I spot, on top of a pile of torn-open envelopes splayed out in the kitchen, a letter from Porsche.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2025
He could see Frodo below him, a grey forlorn figure splayed against the cliff.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Images from the scene show a mangled heap of scaffolding and concrete splaying out onto the street, covered by green safety netting.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
LaRavia hadn’t scored 20 points in a game since Nov. 2 as his splaying time has fluctuated with the Lakers’ ever-changing injury report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
Under the watchful eyes of Ogiri inhabitants, he found himself splaying his hands, almost as if to say, Look, I come in peace.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2023
Holding her by the handles, Kanagawa played with her spindly, splaying cardboard legs and recounted how he learned to shift her udder to one side when she needs to sit down.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2022
The little creature flops down on a nearby cushion, her legs splaying in all directions.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
