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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For all the sweet and salty fans out there, this is sure to be your new favorite dessert. Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2025 With agentic workflows, one user action might fan out into dozens of model calls, tool invocations, or backend operations. Chris Kent, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025 In the weeks since his disappearance, Moore’s family, friends and advocates have marshaled search parties, passed out flyers, fanned out across the city and called for a more urgent response from Sacramento police and city leaders. Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2025 Tsunami waves can travel at up to 600 miles per hour, fanning out across oceans from the epicenter of the quake. Barney Henderson robert Birsel john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for fan out

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Cite this Entry

“Fan out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan%20out. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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