1
as in to extend
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area
the dog had outstretched his legs and was lying across the width of the doorway
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lengthen
to make longer
having outstretched our lunch break beyond all reason, we reluctantly headed back to work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of outstretch
The component sounds of Spanish words, cut down to two vowels and four consonants, are conveyed by whistling, the trick being to curl your fingers against your mouth with one finger outstretched, as if your hand were a gun.
—
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2020
And that’s Bell jogging in to score the winning run with both arms outstretched over his head to give the Diamondbacks their only world championship.
—Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 10 Jan. 2020
As Congress applauded the line, Pelosi stood, outstretched her arms, and clapped slowly and deliberately, as if the clap was more in jest than sincerity.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 23 Dec. 2019
While kicking around a soccer ball, the little princess took a few breaks to balance on one leg with her arms outstretched above her head.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 26 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for outstretch
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2020
And that’s Bell jogging in to score the winning run with both arms outstretched over his head to give the Diamondbacks their only world championship.
—Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 10 Jan. 2020
As Congress applauded the line, Pelosi stood, outstretched her arms, and clapped slowly and deliberately, as if the clap was more in jest than sincerity.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 23 Dec. 2019
While kicking around a soccer ball, the little princess took a few breaks to balance on one leg with her arms outstretched above her head.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 26 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for outstretch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outstretch
Verb
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The driller responsible for it, Patton Exploration, solicited companies to extend a pipeline to the oil well to capture the gas and evaluated whether the gas could be used to mine bitcoin.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
4 Sep. 2025
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Bullion hit fresh highs this week, with spot values extending their record run above the $3,500 mark into the middle of the week.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To improve safety, the transportation division has lengthened no passing zones and added flashing yellow beacons to no passing zones signs, Ronaldson said.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
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While ChatGPT may initially recommend suicide hotlines, the AI could later give harmful answers as the conversation lengthens.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The tournament expanded from 24 teams to 32 at the start of the 1999-2000 season, with a second group stage then played before being replaced with the round of 16 in 2003-04.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
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This shift is reinforced by Russia’s push to expand its eastward infrastructure through the Power of Siberia pipelines cementing a more permanent divide in global energy markets.—
Earl Carr,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The line often stretches out the door, a testament to the café’s reputation as one of Nashville’s most beloved no-frills eateries.—
Rai Mincey,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Shark nets were installed across 51 beaches in NSW, for the season starting September 1, across 51 beaches stretching around 140 miles from Newcastle to Wollongong, 9News reports.—
Laura Sharman,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The film opens just as its predecessor ended, with a handy recap explaining how Ne Zha and his angelic counterpart, Ao Bing, ended up in need of bodily reincarnation.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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For the Cowboys, the scoring opened with two touchdown drives finished off by Javonte Williams rushing scores and two Brandon Aubrey field goals.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Federal Supplement Security Income payments would increase for January but those payments would be made at the end of December.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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But there is really no reason why this should be the case for Pilates—which consists of different low-impact movements to strengthen your core muscles, increase your flexibility, improve your posture and give you more awareness of your body in general.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Outstretch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outstretch. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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