spreader

American  

[spred-er] / ˈsprɛd ər /

noun

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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ˈspreader 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

• antispreader noun

Etymology

Origin of spreader

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

Example Sentences

Chief executive Susan Hopkins previously said it looked as though there had been a super spreader event, with the outbreak ongoing within university halls of residences, where there would have been parties and social mixing.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 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

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