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

The technique also weakens rate limiting because the large number of attempts is spread out, limiting the number hitting any single account. —Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 4 June 2026

Inside the tiny channel, intense pulses naturally spread out into a wide range of colors. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026

The tournament’s 72 group stage matches, the most ever, are spread out over 16 host cities or metropolitan areas. —Miami Herald, 3 June 2026

The Knicks will need to spread out Wembanyama — and not just with Hart. —Fred Katz, New York Times, 3 June 2026

Rhymes for spread out

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