spreader

American  

[spred-er] / ˈsprɛd ər /

noun

• spreaders
  plural

1. a person or thing that spreads.

2. a small, dull knife or spatula used for spreading butter, jelly, etc., on bread.

3. a machine for dispersing bulk material.

   manure spreader.

4. a device for spacing or keeping apart two objects, as electric wires.

5. Nautical. a strut for spreading shrouds on a mast.

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spreader British  

/ ˈsprɛdə /

noun

1. a machine or device used for scattering bulk materials, esp manure or fertilizer, over a relatively wide area

2. a device for keeping apart or spacing parallel objects, such as electric wires

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antispreader
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spreaders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of spreader

First recorded in 1475–85; spread + -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spreader spreaders

A resident in the area, who asked not to be named, told the BBC a muck spreader, which are normally used to distribute farmyard manure, had been used to spread medical waste.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

I get to get on stage and make people laugh, be this joy spreader, and then I’m dealing with all these other things that have nothing to do with what I’m here to do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025

Like Henry Ford before him, Elon Musk has emerged as America’s top conspiracy spreader.

From Salon ● May 5, 2024

In contrast, several bites from the human flea, Pulex irritans, are required to transmit the bacteria, making it a less potent spreader of plague but still a threat.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024

I concentrated on the rows, and watched the spreader and the gray fertilizer sifting down from the hopper onto the soil.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Dr Ahmad said that getting enough school-age children vaccinated meant that it made that surge better, "because they are spreaders".

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025

Yet, some think this research leads to censorship when platforms choose to use the knowledge to label or remove suspect content or ban its primary spreaders.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2025

It gets screenshotted and reposted by casual meme spreaders.

From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2024

Whether that kind of intervention works will depend on how motivated these misinformation spreaders are.

From Science Magazine ● May 29, 2024

It had been upstairs at the store ever since, alongside the stock of corn planters, fertilizer spreaders, mule collars, iron washpots, hat trees, and extra brass racks for readymade dresses.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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