as in stretching (out)
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area
let's spread the puzzle out on the floor and see what we've got
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spreading (out)
Verb
-
Despite months of military build-up, the escalation into a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory in February 2022 and the subsequent imposition of sweeping and continuously expanding sanctions came as a major shock to thousands of transnational corporations.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025 -
Crews expanding a major Lake Norman-area highway cut a gas line Friday, prompting evacuations and closing the busy road for hours, witnesses and town officials said.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
At that time, voters approved extending a capital-improvement property tax at the current rate to fund six categories of projects, including a new Little Rock District Court facility.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Oct. 2025
-
In 2019, during the 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Billups was arrested less than nine hours after Portland’s season-opening season-opening loss at home, a game notably attended by the team’s current owner and a financier in the process of buying the franchise.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
-
But Miller was back Wednesday in the Hornets’ 136-117 season-opening win over the Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center — rising, soaring and dunking the ball with acrobatic impunity.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Our accounting of arrests in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago is particularly limited, since the events there are still unfolding.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
18 Oct. 2025
-
This is already unfolding in the AI wave.—
Nick Tzitzon,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Spreading (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spreading%20%28out%29. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share