fan out
phrasal verb
fanned out; fanning out; fans out
: to spread apart or to cause (something) to spread apart
The police fanned out across the park in search of the suspect.
He fanned out his fingers.
Examples of fan out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After the event, volunteers fanned out to an array of nearby locations to engage in tasks such as cleaning up Coyote Creek and sprucing up and beautifying Kelley Park, which is home to both Happy Hollow and the Japanese Friendship Garden.
—
George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 June 2024
Over the next few decades a succession of military engineers, desperate for ancient artworks to decorate their own villas, gave orders to dig underground tunnels fanning out from the theater.
—Tomas Weber, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
While the French did eliminate some top jihadi leaders, its pursuit of them caused the jihadis to fan out across central Mali and into the tri-border region alongside Niger and Burkina Faso.
—Hannah Rae Armstrong, Foreign Affairs, 29 Aug. 2023
The aim is to make new fans out of people like Mr. Norton or, ideally, his grandson.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 31 May 2024
More than 800 researchers fanned out across 1,500 townships in Minnesota and listened and watched for birds.
—John Myers, Twin Cities, 26 May 2024
As Taveras got to the stop and tried to fan out the train of her dress, she could be seen pushing the security guard’s arm away.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024
Almost a year and a half later, in November 2021, Herder ascended the mountain with a crew of Sky Island Alliance volunteers who fanned out to find and assess the ecological health of springs that sustain plant and animal life and contribute to Tucson’s streams and groundwater recharge.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 20 May 2024
Exactly one week later, on a cool, cloudy Wednesday morning, the police fanned out across the Jungle.
—Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 June 2024
Over the next few decades a succession of military engineers, desperate for ancient artworks to decorate their own villas, gave orders to dig underground tunnels fanning out from the theater.
—Tomas Weber, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
While the French did eliminate some top jihadi leaders, its pursuit of them caused the jihadis to fan out across central Mali and into the tri-border region alongside Niger and Burkina Faso.
—Hannah Rae Armstrong, Foreign Affairs, 29 Aug. 2023
The aim is to make new fans out of people like Mr. Norton or, ideally, his grandson.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 31 May 2024
More than 800 researchers fanned out across 1,500 townships in Minnesota and listened and watched for birds.
—John Myers, Twin Cities, 26 May 2024
As Taveras got to the stop and tried to fan out the train of her dress, she could be seen pushing the security guard’s arm away.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024
Almost a year and a half later, in November 2021, Herder ascended the mountain with a crew of Sky Island Alliance volunteers who fanned out to find and assess the ecological health of springs that sustain plant and animal life and contribute to Tucson’s streams and groundwater recharge.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 20 May 2024
Exactly one week later, on a cool, cloudy Wednesday morning, the police fanned out across the Jungle.
—Photographs Todd Heisler, New York Times, 19 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fan out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fan out
Cite this Entry
“Fan out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan%20out. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share