stretch

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[ US /ˈstɹɛtʃ/ ]
[ UK /stɹˈɛt‍ʃ/ ]

VERB

extend one's body or limbs
Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours
occupy a large, elongated area
The park stretched beneath the train line
increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance
extend the casserole with a little rice
stretch the soup by adding some more cream
make long or longer by pulling and stretching
stretch the fabric
extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body
Stretch your legs!
Extend your right arm above your head
extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly
stretch the imagination
Stretch the limits
stretch my patience
lie down comfortably
To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out on the grass
pull in opposite directions
During the Inquisition, the torturers would stretch their victims on a rack
corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones
adulterate liquor
become longer by being stretched and pulled
The fabric stretches
extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length
Unfold the newspaper
extend the TV antenna
stretch out that piece of cloth

ADJECTIVE

NOUN

a large and unbroken expanse or distance
a stretch of highway
a stretch of clear water
a straightaway section of a racetrack
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
the capacity for being stretched
extension to or beyond the ordinary limit
by no stretch of the imagination
beyond any stretch of his understanding
running at full stretch
exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent
an unbroken period of time during which you do something
there were stretches of boredom
he did a stretch in the federal penitentiary

Top Definitions Examples

How To Use stretch In A Sentence

They kept to the brush and trees, and invariably the man halted and peered out before crossing a dry glade or naked stretch of upland pasturage. War
Sophie's more casual outfit consists of a black Powerline stretch sleeveless top, Kismet's own label sarong, and an orange, multi-strand bugle bead bracelet.
Baffler editors have called commodification of dissent stretches back to Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment and is alive and well in what he calls the "alienation market" in which films like Fahrenheit 9 / 11 either already have or are destined to make bundles (relatively speaking, of course). GreenCine Daily
A fisherman's son opened this beachside restaurant, which stretches down into the sand. Times, Sunday Times
She huffed, stood up, arched her back in a heavyweight stretch, turned to the fountain and started in on a long, long drink.
Migration into the cities is putting a strain on already stretched resources.
Get up and stretch when on long journeys such as on a coach or plane.
The court sought to stretch modest finite resources so far as possible to meet the parties' needs. Times, Sunday Times
He finished stretching when he was a beanpole, roughly three meters, or eight or nine feet.
The sea was its usual calm blue, a glassy liquid surface stretching till it fused with the horizon in a spectacle of colour.

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