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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antispreader
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spreaders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of spreader

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spreader spreaders

She said it looked as though there had been a super spreader event, though she could not yet confirm where the initial infection originated.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

The main spreader of the West Nile virus in California is the culex mosquito, which becomes infected with the virus by feeding on the blood of infected birds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2024

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

He knew tractors and combines, of course, and had seen his dad’s bush hog and manure spreader and gravity wagons up close, in the barn.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

These findings suggest that body lice may be more efficient spreaders of Y. pestis than previously thought, and they could have played a role in past plague outbreaks.

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024

While visiting the bereaved on Wednesday, President Filipe Nyusi condemned the "bad faith" spreaders of disinformation who "sow fear and terror among the population".

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 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