1
as in to stretch (out)
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area
the accordionist smoothly fanned out the bellows of his instrument as he played
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to radiate
to extend outwards from or as if from a central point
most of the city's subway lines fan out from this central station
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fan (out)
Verb
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In the following months, painful shocks radiated through her chest and back.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026 -
Regardless, the influence of Amazing Stories’ founding in 1926 radiated throughout the genre’s history like the light through Bradbury’s grandparents’ window, with authors who had their debut in Amazing Stories running the canonical gamut from Asimov to Zelzany.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The messages seemed to show Felix Wanjala, who was the hospital’s CEO during Abraaj’s ownership, apparently pressuring doctors to meet daily admissions targets and extend peoples’ hospital stays.—
Hettie O'Brien,
The Dial,
21 Apr. 2026
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Southeast Asia’s motorists are increasingly feeling the pinch as the Iran energy crisis extends into its eighth week.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a spiral galaxy swirling through the darkness of space, emanating an otherworldly glow through its cosmic, branching arms.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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Cutting close to the base of the plant promotes branching and fuller growth.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Somebody who is just living greatness and never rests on that laurel but is always pushing herself to expand as an artist.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
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The debate is playing out in Wyoming, a state where many data centers have popped up, including new plans for Microsoft to purchase 3,200 acres of land to expand its data center footprint.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Carbios reported a financial loss of about $12 million, reflecting lower income from cash investments, interest flows with subsidiaries, interest paid on loans and a non-cash impairment provision.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
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The deadline has prompted security engineers to focus preparations to ward off harvest-now-decrypt-later (HNDL, and also store now, decrypt later) threats, in which adversaries squirrel away encrypted data flowing over the Internet with the plan of decrypting it on Q-Day—the date a CRQC arrives.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Cherokee Nation today derives about 40% of its income from casinos, down from 80% or 90% about 20 years ago.—
Keith Sharon,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2026
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The overwhelming majority of Bailey’s value will derive from his glove, not his bat.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The PlayStation 5 Pro is a more powerful spin on the vanilla PS5, thanks to ray tracing and AI upscaling that give games a visual boost.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
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That’s why countries around the world agreed in December 2025 to add more than 70 shark and ray species to an international wildlife trade treaty’s list for full or partial protection.—
Gareth J. Fraser,
The Conversation,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Brent Suter opened the game and went two-plus innings.—
CBS New York Team,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
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The college’s leaders intentionally decided not to open a dining hall, so that the students would learn to cook and host others in their home.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Fan (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fan%20%28out%29. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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