/ English Dictionary

STRETCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of physically reaching or thrusting out

Synonyms:

reach; reaching; stretch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stretch"):

outreach (the act of reaching out)

Derivation:

stretch (extend one's body or limbs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Extension to or beyond the ordinary limit

Example:

beyond any stretch of his understanding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

extension (act of expanding in scope; making more widely available)

Derivation:

stretch (become longer by being stretched and pulled)

stretch (make long or longer by pulling and stretching)

stretch (extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent

Synonyms:

stretch; stretching

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

exercise; exercising; physical exercise; physical exertion; workout (the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stretch"):

pandiculation (yawning and stretching (as when first waking up))

Derivation:

stretch (extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A straightaway section of a racetrack

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

straight; straightaway (a straight segment of a roadway or racecourse)

Domain category:

racing (the sport of engaging in contests of speed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stretch"):

homestretch (the straight stretch of a racetrack leading to the finish line)

Holonyms ("stretch" is a part of...):

racecourse; racetrack; raceway; track (a course over which races are run)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The capacity for being stretched

Synonyms:

stretch; stretchability; stretchiness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

elasticity; snap (the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed)

Derivation:

stretch (become longer by being stretched and pulled)

stretchy (capable of being easily stretched and resuming former size or shape)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A large and unbroken expanse or distance

Example:

a stretch of clear water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

expanse (a wide and open space or area as of surface or land or sky)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stretch"):

slack; slack water (a stretch of water without current or movement)

Derivation:

stretch (occupy a large, elongated area)

Sense 7

Meaning:

An unbroken period of time during which you do something

Example:

he did a stretch in the federal penitentiary

Synonyms:

stint; stretch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("stretch" is a kind of...):

continuance; duration (the period of time during which something continues)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Easily stretched

Example:

stretch hosiery

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

elastic (capable of resuming original shape after stretching or compression; springy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having an elongated seating area

Example:

a stretch limousine

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

long (primarily spatial sense; of relatively great or greater than average spatial extension or extension as specified)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body

Example:

Extend your right arm above your head

Synonyms:

extend; stretch

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

strain; tense; tense up (cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stretch"):

spread-eagle (stretch out completely)

crane; stretch out (stretch (the neck) so as to see better)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stretching; stretch (exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Extend one's body or limbs

Example:

Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours

Synonyms:

stretch; stretch out

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

stretch (the act of physically reaching or thrusting out)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance

Example:

extend the casserole with a little rice

Synonyms:

extend; stretch

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

increase (make bigger or more)

Verb group:

adulterate; debase; dilute; load; stretch (corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Become longer by being stretched and pulled

Example:

The fabric stretches

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

grow (become larger, greater, or bigger; expand or gain)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stretch"):

give; yield (be flexible under stress of physical force)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

These fabrics stretch easily

Antonym:

shrink (become smaller or draw together)

Derivation:

stretch (extension to or beyond the ordinary limit)

stretch (the capacity for being stretched)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Make long or longer by pulling and stretching

Example:

stretch the fabric

Synonyms:

elongate; stretch

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

lengthen (make longer)

Cause:

stretch (become longer by being stretched and pulled)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stretch"):

shoetree; tree (stretch (a shoe) on a shoetree)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

stretch (extension to or beyond the ordinary limit)

stretcher (a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes or gloves) by stretching it)

stretching (act of expanding by lengthening or widening)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones

Example:

adulterate liquor

Synonyms:

adulterate; debase; dilute; load; stretch

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

corrupt; spoil (alter from the original)

Verb group:

extend; stretch (increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stretch"):

water down (thin by adding water to)

doctor; doctor up; sophisticate (alter and make impure, as with the intention to deceive)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly

Example:

stretch the imagination

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

broaden; extend; widen (extend in scope or range or area)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

stretch (extension to or beyond the ordinary limit)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Pull in opposite directions

Example:

During the Inquisition, the torturers would stretch their victims on a rack

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

draw; pull (cause to move by pulling)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stretch"):

draw; pull back (stretch back a bowstring (on an archer's bow))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 9

Meaning:

Lie down comfortably

Example:

To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out on the grass

Synonyms:

stretch; stretch out

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

lie; lie down (assume a reclining position)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 10

Meaning:

Extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length

Example:

extend the TV antenna

Synonyms:

extend; stretch; stretch out; unfold

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

change form; change shape; deform (assume a different shape or form)

Verb group:

extend (open or straighten out; unbend)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 11

Meaning:

Occupy a large, elongated area

Example:

The park stretched beneath the train line

Synonyms:

stretch; stretch along

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "stretch" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

stretch (a large and unbroken expanse or distance)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A stretch of DNA at a particular chromosomal location that is able to regulate the expression of a specific mRNA or protein.

(Expression Quantitative Trait Locus, NCI Thesaurus)

A device designed to stretch or enlarge a structure.

(Expander Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried: “Hansel, stretch out your finger that I may feel if you will soon be fat.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

You are now in your final stretch, as Saturn will leave this financial area of your chart next year, on December 16, 2020.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Stretches of DNA can be read and translated into proteins in different ways.

(Revealing the human proteome, NIH)

Don’t you think you’ve stretched that neck of yours just about enough?

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The condition of being dilated or stretched.

(Dilation, NCI Thesaurus)

He lay as we had left him, on his back, with his eyes open and one arm stretched out.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

When Lady Middleton rose to go away, Mr. Palmer rose also, laid down the newspaper, stretched himself and looked at them all around.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

He had stretched out on his bunk to rest, lying on his side, his head on his arm.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

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