spread out

verb

spread out; spreading out; spreads out

1

: to open, arrange, or place (something) over a large area

He spread out the map on the table.

He spread the cards out on the table.

The cards were spread out across the table.

2

: to be open, arranged, or extended over a large area

The city is spread out over a wide area.

3

: to move (parts of the body) outward or away from each other

Spread your arms out.

There's no room on the couch to spread yourself out.

4

: to divide up (something) over a period of time or among members of a group

They spread the work out among the committee members.

The course is spread out over two semesters.

5

: to move apart from the other members of a group especially to search an area

The police spread out to search the area faster.

Examples of spread out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of causing vacancy rates to rise and housing costs to dip, the authors believe Californians simply started to spread out. — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026

The generous size lets everyone spread out (no more feeling squeezed together), while the square arms and clean-lined design keep the look simple. — Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026

Everyone’s spread out with a respective mountain of vending-machine snacks in front of them, each taking their own moment to stare down Oleksa, when Joe takes the floor. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026

The group’s survey efforts are mostly organized into 17 clusters, each containing 12 to 16 individual collection sites spread out in a grid of roughly 14 square miles. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for spread out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout