spread

Fetched 2026-10-27 (live).

Synonyms: spred, sprad, spreed, spead, aspread

Antonyms: spred, sprad, spreed, spead, aspread

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
   • He spread his newspaper on the table.
2. To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. simple past and past participle of spread
   • I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home.
3. To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
   • I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor.
4. To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated.
5. To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.
   • The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
6. To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended.
   • I dropped my glass; the water spread quickly over the tiled floor.
7. To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.
   • She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot.
8. To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter.
   • He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
9. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
   • to spread a table
10. To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours.

Noun

1. The act of spreading.
2. Something that has been spread.
3. A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading.
4. An expanse of land.
5. A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.
6. A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).
7. A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
8. Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams.
9. A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships.
10. Food improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food.
11. An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.
12. Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.
13. A numerical difference.
14. A measure of how far the data tend to deviate from the average.
    • The spread is usually measured using standard deviation and variance.
15. The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.
16. The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity.
17. The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity.
18. The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity.
19. An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies.
20. The difference between bidding and asking price.
21. The difference between the prices of two similar items.
22. An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.
23. The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.
24. Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.
25. The difference between the teams' final scores at the end of a sport match.

Verb

1. To speedread; to recite one's arguments at an extremely fast pace.

Noun

1. An act or instance of spreading (speedreading).

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.