as in to spread
to cause to move outward and apart
He sat with his legs splayed apart. She splayed her fingers to show off her manicure.
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Recent Examples of splay
Its resemblance to a spine-down volume with the pages splayed out is entirely intentional.
—
Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 20 May 2025
Take 10 steps laterally — five small steps to the right, then five small steps back to the left — keeping the ball of your foot and toes off the floor, and toes splayed, the whole time.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The char siu splayed over the top of the noodles are luscious slabs of pork belly that melt.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
One of her bare legs is exposed, splayed out from beneath the sheets.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 20 May 2025
Take 10 steps laterally — five small steps to the right, then five small steps back to the left — keeping the ball of your foot and toes off the floor, and toes splayed, the whole time.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The char siu splayed over the top of the noodles are luscious slabs of pork belly that melt.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2025
One of her bare legs is exposed, splayed out from beneath the sheets.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splay
Verb
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Thousands will be rounded up, tortured, and executed as the regime spreads fear to survive.—
Siamak Namazi,
Time,
25 June 2025
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Despite the ban, unhealthy information on achieving extreme thinness continues to spread on social media.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
25 June 2025
Verb
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That allowed Igor Jesus to put Botafogo in front to stay shortly before the intermission, splitting a pair of PSG defenders to run on to Jefferson Savarino’s perfectly weighted through ball, then beating keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from the top of the box.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
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Breaking Down The Pillars Microservices The core principle of microservices involves splitting a monolithic application into multiple independent services.—
Raju Dandigam,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Splay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splay. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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