1
as in expansion
a wide space or area
a narrow stretch of beach below the cliffs
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Relevance
2
as in space
an indefinite but usually short period of time
there was a cardinal at our bird feeder for a short stretch last spring
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3
4
as in distance
the space or amount of space between two points, lines, surfaces, or objects
the longest stretch of the drive without any place to get gas
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1
as in to exaggerate
to add to the interest of by including made-up details
it was stretching the truth to say she'd been in the movies: she was once an extra whose scene was cut in the final version
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to lengthen
to make longer
the time it would take to fix the car got stretched from three hours to two days when the part we needed had to be ordered
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4
as in to try
to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress
your whining is stretching my patience to the limit
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as in flexible
able to revert to original size and shape after being stretched, squeezed, or twisted
stretch fabrics that don't wrinkle or sag
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Cite this Entry
“Stretch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stretch. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.
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