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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Zoning, including single-family-exclusive zoning, first spread across the US in the early 20th century (before that, development was far more freewheeling and improvised).—
Marina Bolotnikova,
Vox,
7 July 2025
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Associated Press The Context The Daily Beast article quickly spread across social media, where Cruz faced criticism over the trip.—
Andrew Stanton
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Plaid’s bank partnerships avoided years of licensing; TSMC’s $20B chip R&D was split with Apple/NVIDIA.—
Sahar Hashmi,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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The total Sovereign Grant remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive year at $108.8 million, split between $65.3 million for core funding and $43.5 million for the ongoing Buckingham Palace refurbishment project.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Splay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splay. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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