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stretch 1 of 4

Definition of stretchnext

stretch

2 of 4

verb (1)

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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2
as in to pull
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure I stretched a back muscle, and the pain is killing me

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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
5
as in to tighten
to draw tight if the canvas isn't properly stretched over the frame, there will be sagging over time

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stretch

3 of 4

adjective

stretch (out)

4 of 4

verb (2)

as in to expand
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area you can't stretch out your legs to the point where you're blocking the aisle

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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 stretch
Noun
That ignited a crazy stretch that saw three touchdowns on five plays. Matt Roy, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025 Win just one of those, and, wow, MU would be entering the final four-game stretch in contention for the 12-team College Football Playoff. Kansas City Star, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
With child care now costing costing more than many college degrees and more than rent in some major cities, parents are finding finances stretched. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025 Redrawn in 2021, the 7th District includes Clarksville and parts of North and West Nashville and stretches down to the Alabama border. Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
The non-stretch jean has a dry indigo wash and features curved legs with an extra seam for structure and oversized back pockets. Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 20 Oct. 2025 These wrinkle-resistant, bi-stretch pants look tailored enough for the office yet feel relaxed enough for a long flight. Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stretch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stretch
Noun
  • The expansion of the role of pharmacies has meant that paying cash for generic drugs and services can also be cheaper at times.
    Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
  • However, the major result emerging from this research is the implication that the universe is not expanding at an accelerating rate, but has already transitioned into a state of decelerating expansion.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The big story Sipping coffee in a café surrounded by Singapore’s skyline, Anshuman Magazine of real estate services firm CBRE told me that global capability centers (GCCs) accounted for 38% of office space demand in India in the third quarter.
    Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!
    Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Even the people at the other end of the spectrum, who are resisting the very idea of change, represent a customer service failure on your part.
    Phil Gilbert, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
  • Red portions of the visible light spectrum easily penetrate skin and become absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood.
    Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Presidents before Roosevelt largely kept their distance from the press and only occasionally granted interviews.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Keep a distance from high profile vehicles such as trucks, buses and vehicles towing trailers.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • These include electric vehicles with extended driving ranges, large-scale renewable energy storage systems that can balance intermittent solar and wind power, and lightweight, flexible power sources for portable and wearable electronics.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Airlines have been alerting customers whose flights are canceled and offering flexible rebooking and refund options to other travelers headed to those 40 airports.
    Eve Chen, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • One of the original Florida state parks, opened to the public in 1935, the 13,000-acre expanse felt more like Georgia or North Carolina with its high plateaus, steep ravines, waterfalls, and seasonal foliage.
    Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2025
  • After passing through a gate, the trail scrambles up the backside of Chicken Point, a broad open expanse of slickrock surrounded by abrupt colorful cliffs with views spilling across the valley.
    Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • With Jennings and Kittle back in the lineup for this game, the Niners should be able to move the ball well enough to keep this one close for a while.
    Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
  • People bristle at the word procedural, because for a while that had negative connotations to it.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • These include electric vehicles with extended driving ranges, large-scale renewable energy storage systems that can balance intermittent solar and wind power, and lightweight, flexible power sources for portable and wearable electronics.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The Chinese retailer, known for its range of cheap ultra-fast-fashion clothing and criticisms of its labor and environmental practices, is nestled on the sixth floor of a more than century-old building in Paris, a city famous for high-end fashion and a recent green push.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 7 Nov. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Stretch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stretch. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

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