stretch

[ strech ]

/ strɛtʃ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: stretch / stretched / stretcher / stretchest on Thesaurus.com

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR stretch

11 lie down.

20 range, reach, compass.

See synonyms for stretch on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR stretch

5, 16 shorten, shrink.

See antonyms for stretch on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

synonym study for stretch

5. See lengthen.

OTHER WORDS FROM stretch

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. 2022

How to use stretch in a sentence

Why is it that black artists of the 1970s seem to have been drawn to unstretched canvases?
Black Power Comes Unstretched|Blake Gopnik|April 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If the weather is somewhat warm and the skin remains uncleaned and unstretched a day or two, it may start to taint.
Fur Farming For Profit|Hermon Basil Laymon

British Dictionary definitions for stretch

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 forms of stretch

stretchable, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with stretch

stretch

In addition to the idioms beginning with stretch

stretch a point
stretch one's legs

also see:

at a stretch
by any stretch

stretch

OTHER WORDS FOR stretch

OPPOSITES FOR stretch

Origin of stretch

synonym study for stretch

OTHER WORDS FROM stretch

Words related to stretch

How to use stretch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stretch

Derived forms of stretch

Word Origin for stretch

Other Idioms and Phrases with stretch