spreader

noun spread·er \ ˈspre-dər \

Updated on: 3 Apr 2018

Definition of spreader

: one that spreads: such as

a : an implement for scattering material

b : a small knife used especially for spreading butter

c : a device (such as a bar) holding two linear elements (such as lines, guys, rails) apart and usually taut

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Examples of spreader in a Sentence

Mosquito are spreaders of disease.

Recent Examples of spreader from the Web

In May, Field and a small group of volunteers used an agricultural spreader, dragged by a snowmobile, to cover an area of ice the size of three football fields on an inland lake in Alaska.

— katherine ellison, WIRED, "Why Climate Change Skeptics Are Backing Geoengineering," 28 Mar. 2018
This includes dump bodies, snow plows, salt spreaders, and warning lights, among other equipment.

— jennifer johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Park Ridge City Council recap: Liquor license tentatively approved for South Park salon," 26 Mar. 2018
Last May, Field and a small group of volunteers used an agricultural spreader, dragged by a snowmobile, to cover an area of ice the size of three football fields on an inland lake in Alaska.

— katherine ellison, San Francisco Chronicle, "Can hacking the planet ward off climate change?," 25 Mar. 2018
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said Tuesday that crews were pretreating roads with brine and magnesium chloride and planning the deployment of spreaders, plows, and maintenance equipment.

— sean smyth, BostonGlobe.com, "Wednesday’s nor’easter could bring 6 to 10 inches of snow to Boston," 20 Mar. 2018
Measles is notoriously contagious for people without immunity to the disease, with a 90 percent infection rate for nonimmunized people who venture near an active spreader, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— alex horton, Washington Post, "Health officials fear an Australian tourist spread measles across New York," 25 Feb. 2018
Dell also included a new thermal solution inside the new XPS 13, which features two heat pipes, two fans, and a new shield between the heat spreader and the keyboard that should prevent overheating.

— valentina palladino, Ars Technica, "New white and rose gold Dell XPS 13 laptop features 8th-gen Intel CPUs," 4 Jan. 2018
Use a walk-behind broadcast spreader to apply lime or sulfur.

— joseph truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Plant Grass Seed for a New Lawn," 12 Mar. 2018
Measles is notoriously contagious for people without immunity to the disease, with a 90 percent infection rate for nonimmunized people who venture near an active spreader, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— alex horton, Washington Post, "Health officials fear an Australian tourist spread measles across New York," 25 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spreader.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.