a representation of an eagle with outspread wings: used as an emblem of the U.S.
an acrobatic figure in skating performed by making a glide with the skates touching heel-to-heel in a straight line and with the arms outstretched.
an acrobatic stunt in ski jumping executed with the legs and arms widely outstretched to the sides.
having or suggesting the form of a spread eagle.
lying prone with arms and legs outstretched.
boastful or bombastic, especially in the display of patriotic or nationalistic pride in the U.S.
to assume or cause to assume the shape of a spread eagle
(intr) skating to execute a spread eagle
the representation of an eagle with outstretched wings, used as an emblem of the US
an acrobatic skating figure
First recorded in 1560–70
First recorded in 1820–30
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The crash sent his friend "face down, spread eagle, with Gwyneth on top of him", but Ms Paltrow slid off him and bolted from the scene while he lay unresponsive, Mr Ramone testified.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2023
Niskanen crossed the line and collapsed, spread eagle, with a time of 37 minutes, 54.8 seconds.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
When a girl went into labor, she was dropped off at a hospital, where most labored alone, often strapped, spread eagle, to a hospital bed, according to “The Girls Who Went Away.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 19, 2018
In one of their lifts, Ms. Virtue looked almost angelic, balancing on Mr. Moir's right thigh with her arms outstretched while he stayed in a deep-kneed spread eagle before she flipped down into his arms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2010
"Come on, Dave!" shouted Ben, circling up on his skates, and doing a "spread eagle."
From Dave Porter and His Rivals or, The Chums and Foes of Oak Hall by Goss, John
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 33 shots, including a spread-eagle glove save with 2:37 left in regulation of Shea Theodore’s long slap shot.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2022
The sight of Real Madrid’s players, spread-eagle on the field in a state of pure, blissful exhaustion, having somehow turned certain defeat into a triumph actually happens with alarming frequency.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022
Did you hear about the airline passenger who wound up face down and spread-eagle on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport this month?
From Washington Post ● Oct. 17, 2021
So we come upstairs to find you basically spread-eagle, standing on top of the headboard, hanging up this crazy artwork all by yourself.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2021
I spun in time to see him toss himself, spread-eagle, into the sky above us.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Demus demands greatness, piercing ears with her whistle, running workouts so vigorous that athletes wind up face down and spread-eagled on the track in exhaustion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2023
Keisala got her right pad out to make a spread-eagled stop on Amanda Kessel driving in on a breakaway, while Kelly Pannek was stopped trying to jam in a loose puck from atop the crease.
From Fox News ● Feb. 14, 2022
Video posted on social media showed a man spread-eagled face down on the runway asphalt as a pair of emergency personnel knelt beside him.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2021
But late in the third, the puck remained loose in the crease as Anderson went to the ice, spread-eagled, trying to cover it up.
From Washington Times ● May 17, 2021
Colonel Hedgepath laughed so hard that he loosened his belt and lay spread-eagled on the carpet.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Kenya's David Rudisha provided the most spectacular individual performance on the track, spread-eagling the field to break his own world 800 meters record without the benefit of pacemakers.
From Reuters ● Dec. 28, 2012
But on the long run-in from the last fence and with the race at his mercy, the horse unaccountably lost his footing, spread-eagling himself on the turf.
From Reuters ● Feb. 14, 2010
This was what Navy Secretary Frank Knox meant last week as he did some unqualified spread-eagling: At the end of last year, the U.S. had a Navy second to none.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was a bad step for Blenkiron, and we only got him past it by Peter and I spread-eagling ourselves against the wall and passing him in front of us with his face towards us.
From Greenmantle by Buchan, John
It brought Irish spread-eagling over his head, and it landed him fairly in the middle of Patsy's great pan of soft bread "sponge"—and landed him upon his head into the bargain.
From The Happy Family by Bower, B. M.
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.
