stretcher

American  

[strech-er] / ˈstrɛtʃ ər /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a kind of litter, often of canvas stretched on a frame, for carrying the sick, wounded, or dead.

   2. a similar litter on wheels, adapted for use in ambulances and hospitals.

2. a person or thing that stretches.

3. any of various instruments for extending, widening, distending, etc.

4. a bar, beam, or fabricated material, serving as a tie or brace.

5. Masonry. a brick or stone laid in a wall so that its longer edge is exposed or parallel to the surface.

6. a simple wooden framework on which the canvas for an oil painting is stretched.

7. Furniture.

   1. a framework connecting and bracing the legs of a piece of furniture.

   2. one member of this framework.

8. a crosspiece that is set athwart and near the bottom in a small boat, and against which the feet of a rower are braced.

9. one of the thin, sliding rods connecting the canopy and handle of an umbrella.

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verb (used with object)

1. to stretch (canvas for a painting) on a stretcher.

stretcher British  

/ ˈstrɛtʃə /

noun

1. a device for transporting the ill, wounded, or dead, consisting of a frame covered by canvas or other material

2. a strengthening often decorative member joining the legs of a chair, table, etc

3. the wooden frame on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting

4. a tie beam or brace used in a structural framework

5. a brick or stone laid horizontally with its length parallel to the length of a wall Compare header

6. rowing a fixed board across a boat on which an oarsman braces his feet

7. a camp bed

8. slang an exaggeration or lie

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verb

1. to transport (a sick or injured person) on a stretcher

Etymology

Origin of stretcher

First recorded in 1375–1425, stretcher is from the late Middle English word stretcher. See stretch, -er ¹

Explanation

In a hospital, a stretcher is a device used to carry a person who must lie flat and can't move on their own. It takes two strong people to carry a patient on a stretcher. Although the words are sometimes used interchangeably, a stretcher is different from a gurney, which is fitted with wheels and can be moved by a single person. Stretchers are more portable and tend to be used in emergency situations, especially on battlefields and in wilderness search-and-rescue operations. When an artist, (rather than a doctor or ambulance driver) uses the word stretcher, they generally mean "wooden frame on which a canvas is stretched for painting."

Example Sentences

Images released by a local media outlet showed a woman being evacuated on a stretcher and scenes of heartbreak outside the school, with people crying and hugging each other.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

A title favorite this year from Unitree, one of China’s top humanoid-robot makers, collapsed several times and was taken off the track on a stretcher, leaving the race unfinished.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Lock Morwenna Talling was carted off on a stretcher against Ireland, with Mitchell confirming that she and replacement scrum-half Natasha Hunt will likely miss the rest of the tournament through injury.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

“We thought maybe they came and there’s a stretcher and they took her out the back but her phone was there, her purse was there, all her things and it just didn’t make any sense.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Stockdale was then driven to Hanoi and carried on a stretcher into Hao Lo prison—the “Hanoi Hilton,” as American prisoners bitterly joked.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin