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
The Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale splays out in full shade from the condo buildings and strips of golden sun.
—
Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
Also, there are no people and everything is compressed, as if a giant hand had come down from the sky and harmlessly splayed the three-dimensional world out into two, for easier viewing.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
Compacted into 137 bundles, that steel had to be meticulously splayed out in order to successfully loop around the roadbed, just before the Yerba Buena Tunnel.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The clip accompanying the Facebook post starts with the 600-pound gator splayed out on a Florida road as several uniformed people approach it.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
Also, there are no people and everything is compressed, as if a giant hand had come down from the sky and harmlessly splayed the three-dimensional world out into two, for easier viewing.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026
Compacted into 137 bundles, that steel had to be meticulously splayed out in order to successfully loop around the roadbed, just before the Yerba Buena Tunnel.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The clip accompanying the Facebook post starts with the 600-pound gator splayed out on a Florida road as several uniformed people approach it.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splay
Verb
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Measles is highly contagious and can spread through the air when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the public health system also spread during the pandemic, and longtime anti-vaccine activist groups saw a swell in interest from the wider public.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Instead of one big weekly grocery trip, shoppers are splitting their carts between a warehouse club and a traditional supermarket.—
Alexandria Mansfield,
Florida Times-Union,
8 Feb. 2026
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Michigan State starting on Valentine’s Day, the Bruins wrapped up their three-game homestand on a positive note after splitting the first two, a one-point, double-overtime loss to Indiana followed by a 22-point blowout of Rutgers in which five players scored in double digits.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Splay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splay. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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