spreads 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of spread
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as in parts
to go or move in different directions from a central point the walls of the old barn spread under the weight of the snow on the roof

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

6

spreads

2 of 2

noun

plural of spread
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as in quilts
a decorative cloth used as a top covering for a bed bought a brightly colored spread for summer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in spectrums
the distance or extent between possible extremes the spread of grades was from 15 to 79 on that quiz

Synonyms & Similar Words

5

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of spreads
Verb
The raw sewage rises to the surface, adding to the unbearable stink, which spreads and worsens with every passing day. Eli Sharabi, Time, 1 Oct. 2025 Big Red love spreads all across the Lone Star State, but there’s no city that embraces this sweet and slightly peculiar soda quite like San Antonio. Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025 Beauvais hopes that using her platform spreads more awareness among Black women to seek preventative care. Giana Levy, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025 The algorithm mathematically models how certain information spreads rapidly and is gradually forgotten. Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025 Norovirus spreads easily and can make anyone ill, with symptoms usually lasting one to three days. Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025 If listeriosis spreads beyond the gut, it’s called invasive listeriosis. Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 29 Sep. 2025 The monastery spreads over 5,000 acres of forest on a series of hills, according to its website. Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025 Over time, those stacked up into satellite radio interviews, then Blender magazine spreads, then Fox News spots and eventually phone calls from Universal. Chris Cardillo, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
No hot water baths or pressure canning, the technique uses modern day refrigerators and freezers to store small batches of homemade jams, condiments and spreads, plus chutneys, pickles, relishes and ketchups. Cathy Thomas, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025 Don’t Get Shy on Seasoning My grandmother always says that not using enough seasoning is what keeps spreads such as egg salad and pimiento cheese from really singing. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2025 As ever's first seasonal product launches have included fruit spreads, honey, flower sprinkles, cookie mixes, teas and wine — all carefully selected by Meghan. Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025 One of his favorite spreads draws directly from a Parks image of a mother with her children outside their home; in Smith’s reimagining, those same children later graduate from historically Black colleges, a testament to resilience and progress. Okla Jones, Essence, 24 Sep. 2025 But the appeal petered out until the fitness-obsessed rediscovered it over the last few years, using it in everything from homemade ice creams and muffins to spreads and pancakes. Emma Sandler, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025 This episode of Spread 'Em breaks down what all these injuries mean for teams, spreads, and maybe more importantly, your fantasy lineups. Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025 If the stock chops around, the trade can be scaled by layering additional spreads. Nishant Pant, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025 There are classic fashion spreads on coats and must-have bags, intermingled with more surprising, niche stories, like a profile on the French design collective Inventaire or an interview with emerging photographer Jude Lartey. Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spreads
Verb
  • The Slim Denim The same principle applies to slim denim which, in a classic blue wash, is a more polished take on your typical pair of skinny jeans.
    Christina Holevas, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
  • This advice applies to almost all evergreen shrubs like hollies, boxwoods, and myrtles.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The platform incorporates several system upgrades, including a liquid metal loop that circulates 2,500 pounds (1,100 kilograms) of bismuth and a custom 200-kilowatt heat exchanger.
    Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
  • That quote of Welles throwing monumental shade at Woody Allen, which circulates on social media basically any time Allen does anything?
    Bethy Squires, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The choice Task makes to soften Ruffalo’s natural affability and presence in favor of Pelphrey’s Robbie—who transmits anger and despair with palpable, desperate energy—is a fascinating one, requiring humility from one actor and intense commitment from the other.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The photograph transmits the breadth and mechanism of the Festival’s assembled in the way of a fine Titian oil — speaking of art works central to Venice — in which every human in the image is captured doing something vastly different from his or her neighbor.
    Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The law lowers daily transaction minimums, increases warnings on the kiosks, requires transaction receipts and requires Bitcoin ATM operators to issue refunds to victims of fraud, the release states.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The Corrections Department budget increases wages for corrections officers but also makes tens of millions of dollars in cuts by eliminating programs and administrative costs and funding for positions that have not been filled.
    Paul Egan, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • All stays come with either breakfast or full board (breakfast and three-course dinners).
    Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The mighty goal for Branches this year is to deliver more than 6,000 Thanksgiving turkey dinners to people in need in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
    Christina Mayo, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Vast expanses of aluminum panels and budget glass, slabs that look like they were drawn with a hacksaw, façades checkered with air conditioners, stretches of dead street frontage—the whole neighborhood looks like a first draft.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025
  • On the northern shore, Sarakiniko serves as a particular highlight thanks to its dramatic appearance, with vast expanses of bone-white rock stretching across its shoreline.
    Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • On average, as confirmed for thousands upon thousands of galaxies at all different distances, the farther away a galaxy is from us, the greater the amount its light is redshifted.
    Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 26 Sep. 2025
  • These two dwarf galaxies orbit the Milky Way at distances of 163,000 and 200,000 light-years, respectively, moving through our galaxy's outer halo of hot gas not too dissimilar, but on a much smaller scale, from the Virgo Cluster's halo of hot gas.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Understanding how heat propagates in such states may improve models of their evolution and internal structure.
    Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2025
  • At the furthest edge of this vision lies a future where entire organizations operate not as hierarchies or even networks but as coherent light fields, where strategic intent propagates through resonance rather than reporting lines.
    Pravir Malik, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Spreads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spreads. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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