stretcher

[ strech-er ]

/ ˈstrɛtʃ ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stretcher ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Medicine/Medical.

a kind of litter, often of canvas stretched on a frame, for carrying the sick, wounded, or dead.
a similar litter on wheels, adapted for use in ambulances and hospitals.

a person or thing that stretches.

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

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

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

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

Furniture.

a framework connecting and bracing the legs of a piece of furniture.
one member of this framework.

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

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

verb (used with object)

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

RELATED WORDS

cot, pallet, litter, bed, gurney, dooly

Nearby words

Origin of stretcher

First recorded in 1375–1425, stretcher is from the late Middle English word stretcher. See stretch, -er¹

stretch

[ strech ]

/ strɛtʃ /

verb (used with object)

to draw out or extend (oneself, a body, limbs, wings, etc.) to the full length or extent (often followed by out): to stretch oneself out on the ground.

to hold out, reach forth, or extend (one's arm, head, etc.).

to extend, spread, or place (something) so as to reach from one point or place to another: to stretch a rope across a road.

to draw tight or taut: to stretch the strings of a violin.

to lengthen, widen, distend, or enlarge by tension: to stretch a rubber band.

to draw out, extend, or enlarge unduly: The jacket was stretched at the elbows.

to extend, force, or make serve beyond the normal or proper limits; strain: to stretch the imagination; to stretch the facts; to stretch food to feed extra guests; to stretch money to keep within a budget.

to extend or strain (oneself) to the utmost, as by intense exertion; tax.

to increase the quantity of (a beverage, food, paint, etc.) by dilution or admixing: They caught the bartender stretching the gin with water.

Radio and Television. to prolong or slow down (action or pace) in order not to end too early: to stretch a show; to stretch the action two minutes.

verb (used without object)

to recline at full length (usually followed by out): to stretch out on a couch.

to extend the hand or to reach, as for something.

to extend over a distance or area or in a particular direction: The forest stretches for miles.

to extend in time: His memory stretches back to his early childhood.

to stretch oneself by extending the limbs and lengthening the muscles to the utmost: to stretch and yawn.

to become stretched, or admit of being stretched, to greater length, width, etc., as any elastic or ductile material.

Radio and Television. to reduce the pace or slow down the action of a radio or television program.

noun

an act or instance of stretching.

the state of being stretched.

a continuous length, distance, tract, or expanse: a stretch of meadow.

Horse Racing. the backstretch or homestretch of a racetrack.

Baseball. a short windup, usually used to keep base runners from taking too long a lead, in which the pitcher starts the pitching motion with hands together at the waist, raises them to or above the head, brings them back to the waist, and, after a momentary pause, delivers the ball.

an extent in time; duration: for a stretch of ten years.

elasticity or capacity for extension.

Slang. a term of imprisonment: He's doing a stretch in the pen.

the act or fact of stretching or extending something beyond reasonable or proper limits: You wouldn't call her a genius by any stretch of the imagination. It's quite a stretch for me to believe his story.

(initial capital letter) a nickname for a tall, lanky person.

adjective

made of synthetic or composite yarn having a sufficiently low denier or having been subjected to any of several special mechanical treatments to permit increased elasticity: stretch girdle; stretch pants.

(of yarn) modified or twisted so as to afford high elasticity.

Also stretched. of or relating to a conveyance, as a limousine or airliner, whose seating area is expanded to carry more passengers or afford greater legroom and to allow space for other comforts and amenities.

Origin of stretch

before 900; Middle English strecchen (v.), Old English streccan; cognate with Dutch strekken, German strecken; akin to Old English stræc firm, hard, Middle Dutch strac stiff. See stare, stark

SYNONYMS FOR stretch

5. See lengthen. 11. lie down. 20. range, reach, compass.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stretch ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR stretch

5, 16. shorten, shrink.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR stretch ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

stretch·a·ble, adjectivestretch·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·stretch·a·ble, adjectivepre·stretch, verb (used with object), noun

un·stretch·a·ble, adjectiveun·stretched, adjectivewell-stretched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stretcher

And the next time his friend saw Moses, it was online; his bloody body was slapped on a stretcher.
Alleged Cop Killer’s Blood-Soaked Screenplay|M.L. Nestel|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They carry it like a stretcher, though they're missing one stretcher-bearer.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Paramedics now headed into the shop with a stretcher to aid the gunman.
Brooklyn Shooting Hits Close to Bill de Blasio’s Park Slope Home|Michael Daly|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a stretcher near their position— someone had brought it out earlier and leaned it up near the truck.
Ty Carter Awarded Medal of Honor|David Eisler, Jake Tapper|August 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Prep work now short- circuited, Carter kicked the ammo cans out of the way and snatched up the stretcher.
Ty Carter Awarded Medal of Honor|David Eisler, Jake Tapper|August 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On Lakes, fishing from a boat, you may have six or eight, or even more flies upon a stretcher.
The Teesdale Angler|R Lakeland
Beaver are split but stretched round and should be left in the hoop or stretcher for several days.
Fur Farming|A. R. Harding
Already the Indians were preparing a stretcher out of blankets and two saplings.
The Patrol of the Sun Dance Trail|Ralph Connor
Plank, standing beside the stretcher, raised his head, listening to the ambulance arriving at full speed.
The Fighting Chance|Robert W. Chambers
All right, said Florence complacently, but now please cant I be carried on a stretcher?
Winona of the Camp Fire|Margaret Widdemer

British Dictionary definitions for stretcher

stretcher

/ (ˈstrɛtʃə) /

noun

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

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

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

a tie beam or brace used in a structural framework

a brick or stone laid horizontally with its length parallel to the length of a wallCompare header (def. 4)

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

Australian and NZ a camp bed

slang an exaggeration or lie

verb (tr)

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

stretch

/ (strɛtʃ) /

verb

to draw out or extend or be drawn out or extended in length, area, etc

to extend or be extended to an undue degree, esp so as to distort or lengthen permanently

to extend (the limbs, body, etc)

(tr) to reach or suspend (a rope, etc) from one place to another

(tr) to draw tight; tighten

(often foll by out, forward, etc) to reach or hold (out); extend

(intr usually foll by over) to extend in timethe course stretched over three months

(intr; foll by for, over, etc) (of a region, etc) to extend in length or area

(intr) (esp of a garment) to be capable of expanding, as to a larger sizesocks that will stretch

(tr) to put a great strain upon or extend to the limit

to injure (a muscle, tendon, ligament, etc) by means of a strain or sprain

(tr often foll by out) to make do with (limited resources)to stretch one's budget

(tr) informal to expand or elaborate (a story, etc) beyond what is credible or acceptablethat's stretching it a bit

(tr; often passive) to extend, as to the limit of one's abilities or talents

archaic, or slang to hang or be hanged by the neck

stretch a point

to make a concession or exception not usually made
to exaggerate

stretch one's legs to take a walk, esp after a period of inactivity

noun

the act of stretching or state of being stretched

a large or continuous expanse or distancea stretch of water

extent in time, length, area, etc

capacity for being stretched, as in some garments
(as modifier)stretch pants

horse racing the section or sections of a racecourse that are straight, esp the final straight section leading to the finishing line

slang a term of imprisonment

at a stretch mainly British

with some difficulty; by making a special effort
if really necessary or in extreme circumstances
at one time

Derived Formsstretchable, adjectivestretchability, noun

Word Origin for stretch

Old English streccan; related to Old Frisian strekka, Old High German strecken; see straight, strake

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stretcher

stretch

Old English streccan, from Proto-Germanic *strakjanan (cf. Danish strække, Swedish sträcka, Old Frisian strekka, Old High German strecchan, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Old High German, German strecken "to stretch"), perhaps a variant of the root of stark, or else from PIE root *strenk- "tight, narrow; pull tight, twist" (see strain).

Meaning "to extend (the limbs or wings)" is from c.1200; that of "to lay out for burial" is from early 13c. To stretch one's legs "take a walk" is from c.1600. Meaning "to lengthen by force" first recorded late 14c.; figurative sense of "to enlarge beyond proper limits, exaggerate," is from 1550s. Stretch limo first attested 1973. Stretch marks is attested from 1960. Stretcher "canvas frame for carrying the sick or wounded" is first attested 1845.

stretch

1540s, "act of stretching," from stretch (v.); meaning "unbroken continuance of some activity" is first recorded 1680s; meaning "straightaway of a race course" (e.g. home stretch) is recorded from 1841.

Medicine definitions for stretcher

stretcher

[ strĕch′ər ]

n.

A litter, usually of canvas stretched over a frame, used to transport the sick, wounded, or dead.

Idioms and Phrases with stretcher

stretch

In addition to the idioms beginning with stretch

stretch a point
stretch one's legs

also see:

at a stretch
by any stretch