stretch

American  

[strech] / strɛtʃ /

verb (used with object)

• stretches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stretched,
  past participle,  past
• stretching
  present participle

1. to draw out or extend (oneself, a body, limbs, wings, etc.) to the full length or extent (often followed byout ).

   to stretch oneself out on the ground.

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

3. to extend, spread, or place (something) so as to reach from one point or place to another.

   to stretch a rope across a road.

4. to draw tight or taut.

   to stretch the strings of a violin.

5. to lengthen, widen, distend, or enlarge by tension.

   to stretch a rubber band.

   Antonyms:

   shrink, shorten

6. to draw out, extend, or enlarge unduly.

   The jacket was stretched at the elbows.

7. 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.

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

9. to increase the quantity of (a beverage, food, paint, etc.) by dilution or admixing.

   They caught the bartender stretching the gin with water.

10. 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.

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verb (used without object)

• stretches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stretched,
  past participle,  past
• stretching
  present participle

1. to recline at full length (usually followed byout ).

   to stretch out on a couch.

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

3. to extend over a distance or area or in a particular direction.

   The forest stretches for miles.

4. to extend in time.

   His memory stretches back to his early childhood.

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

   to stretch and yawn.

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

   Antonyms:

   shrink, shorten

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

noun

• stretches
  plural

1. an act or instance of stretching.

2. the state of being stretched.

3. a continuous length, distance, tract, or expanse.

   a stretch of meadow.

   Synonyms:

   compass, reach, range

4. Horse Racing. the backstretch or homestretch of a racetrack.

5. 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.

6. an extent in time; duration.

   for a stretch of ten years.

7. elasticity or capacity for extension.

8. Slang. a term of imprisonment.

   He's doing a stretch in the pen.

9. 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.

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

adjective

1. 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.

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

3. 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.

stretch British  

/ strɛtʃ /

verb

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

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

3. to extend (the limbs, body, etc)

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

5. (tr) to draw tight; tighten

6. to reach or hold (out); extend

7. to extend in time

   the course stretched over three months

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

9. (intr) (esp of a garment) to be capable of expanding, as to a larger size

   socks that will stretch

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

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

12. to make do with (limited resources)

    to stretch one's budget

13. informal (tr) to expand or elaborate (a story, etc) beyond what is credible or acceptable

    that's stretching it a bit

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

15. archaic to hang or be hanged by the neck

16. 1. to make a concession or exception not usually made

    2. to exaggerate

17. to take a walk, esp after a period of inactivity

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noun

1. the act of stretching or state of being stretched

2. a large or continuous expanse or distance

   a stretch of water

3. extent in time, length, area, etc

4. 1. capacity for being stretched, as in some garments

   2. ( as modifier )

      stretch pants

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

6. slang a term of imprisonment

7. 1. with some difficulty; by making a special effort

   2. if really necessary or in extreme circumstances

   3. at one time

stretch Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stretch

• at a stretch
• by any stretch

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Synonym Usage

See lengthen.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stretchability
  noun
• prestretch
  verb (used with object)
• nonstretchable
  adjective
• stretchable
  adjective
• unstretchable
  adjective
• unstretched
  adjective
• well-stretched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stretches
  plural

Participles

• stretching
  present
• stretched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stretch
  simple
• stretches
  simple
• have stretched
  perfect
• has stretched
  perfect
• am stretching
  progressive
• are stretching
  progressive
• is stretching
  progressive
• have been stretching
  perfect progressive
• has been stretching
  perfect progressive

Past

• stretched
  simple
• had stretched
  perfect
• was stretching
  progressive
• were stretching
  progressive
• had been stretching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stretch
  simple
• will have stretched
  perfect
• will be stretching
  progressive
• will have been stretching
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of stretch

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

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Explanation

To stretch is to extend or lengthen something beyond the normal length. You stretched both your vacation and the truth when you called out of work on Monday saying your flight home from Ibiza was canceled. Stretch is a word that has many great usages. The sense of extending one’s limbs came about circa 1200. Four hundred years later brought the phrase "stretch your legs," meaning take a walk. Don’t walk too vigorously, though, or you could stretch a muscle. The word can also be used as a noun, meaning an expanse, as in, "Looking toward the horizon, the thirsty man saw an endless stretch of sand."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stretch stretches stretched stretching

Given the AI industry’s hostility toward intellectual property rights, it’s not a stretch to imagine that a major player may have trained its models on some of the most famous songs in recorded music history.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Yes, there were days I would be empty and would only walk and stretch, but generally I stuck to that rule and worked hard to keep on top of myself physically.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

With the highway typically closing for the winter in December, there’s still time to experience this remarkable stretch of road before the snow arrives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

In 2024, Obama backed Kamala Harris in the final stretch of the presidential election, which Trump ultimately won.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

I stretch my hand toward the ground, my fingers extended.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Forty-five miles after it began, the journey through volcanoes, salt lakes, pine forests, aspens and a valley that stretches across the horizon comes to an end at a lonely intersection with U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

During that time, it covered mostly the Memphis area; it now stretches across half the state and is majority white.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Crystal Palace's winless run stretches to four matches as they're beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle, leaving the club just a point outside the relegation zone with the pressure mounting on manager Pierre Sage.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Although the Carrington Event remains the most famous example from this period, evidence of solar activity interfering with electrical systems stretches back even further.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

Up the wet, winding boardwalks and through stretches of mud that cake my hiking boots in sludge.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

But the remainder feels leftover — formless and aimless — like tinfoil stretched around a clunky, conventional mass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

And the NFL pop-up store in the trendy Marais, where the line stretched for nearly two blocks on Friday, planned to close for 24 hours.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Gemma says the support from management within the team was "phenomenal" and "even the firefighters on the ground were understanding how stretched we were in the control room".

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Wyoming's Sundance Formation, which preserves evidence of an ancient inland sea that once stretched across much of the western United States, has yielded millions of these fossils.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

Then he yawned and stretched, to show Wolf how relaxed he was.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, said spending by consumers was still high, but "they are increasingly stretching their budgets to afford pricier goods and services."

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

A 2-0 series defeat for the Red Roses; their record 39-match winning streak and 41-match unbeaten run – stretching back nearly four years – ended; and consecutive losses for the first time since 2016.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

They are borrowing more to finance vehicles and stretching their terms to keep payments manageable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

They then used 24 estimates of the world population stretching across the past 2,000 years to show that human numbers have in fact continually outpaced expectations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In sits off the road, the parking lot more cracked asphalt than pavement, scents that feel like home stretching across it.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Related Words

• cover
• develop
• draw
• expand
• fill
• go
• grow
• lengthen
• open
• pull
• reach
• run
• span
• spread
• strain
• swell
• unfold
• widen

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