Stretch

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stretch \Stretch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stretched}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Stretching}.] [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D.
     strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. str[aum]cka, Dan.
     straekke; cf. AS. straeck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack
     straight; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to E. strong. Cf.
     {Straight}.]


     1. To reach out; to extend; to put forth.
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              And stretch forth his neck long and small.
                                                    --Chaucer.
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              I in conquest stretched mine arm.     --Shak.
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     2. To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a
        straight line; as, to stretch a cord or rope.
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     3. To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand; as,
        to stretch cloth; to stretch the wings.
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     4. To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
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              The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain.
                                                    --Shak.
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     5. To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain; as, to
        stretch a tendon or muscle.
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              Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve.  --Doddridge.
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     6. To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the
        truth; to stretch one's credit.
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              They take up, one day, the most violent and
              stretched prerogative.                --Burke.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stretch \Stretch\, n.
     1. Act of stretching, or state of being stretched; reach;
        effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a
        stretch of the imagination.
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              By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain.
                                                    --Dryden.
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              Those put a lawful authority upon the stretch, to
              the abuse of yower, under the color of prerogative.
                                                    --L'Estrange.
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     2. A continuous line or surface; a continuous space of time;
        as, grassy stretches of land.
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              A great stretch of cultivated country. --W. Black.
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              But all of them left me a week at a stretch. --E.
                                                    Eggleston.
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     3. The extent to which anything may be stretched.
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              Quotations, in their utmost stretch, can signify no
              more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of
              mind.                                 --Atterbury.
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              This is the utmost stretch that nature can.
                                                    --Granville.
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     4. (Naut.) The reach or extent of a vessel's progress on one
        tack; a tack or board.
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     5. Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal.
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     {To be on the stretch}, to be obliged to use one's utmost
        powers.
  
     {Home stretch}. See under {Home}, a.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stretch \Stretch\, v. i.
     1. To be extended; to be drawn out in length or in breadth,
        or both; to spread; to reach; as, the iron road stretches
        across the continent; the lake stretches over fifty square
        miles.
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              As far as stretcheth any ground.      --Gower.
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     2. To extend or spread one's self, or one's limbs; as, the
        lazy man yawns and stretches.
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     3. To be extended, or to bear extension, without breaking, as
        elastic or ductile substances.
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              The inner membrane . . . because it would stretch
              and yield, remained umbroken.         --Boyle.
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     4. To strain the truth; to exaggerate; as, a man apt to
        stretch in his report of facts. [Obs. or Colloq.]
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     5. (Naut.) To sail by the wind under press of canvas; as, the
        ship stretched to the eastward. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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     {Stretch out}, an order to rowers to extend themselves
        forward in dipping the oar.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  stretch
       adj 1: having an elongated seating area; "a stretch limousine"
              [syn: {stretch(a)}]
       2: easily stretched; "stretch hosiery"
       n 1: a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of
            highway"; "a stretch of clear water"
       2: the act of physically reaching or thrusting out [syn: {reach},
           {reaching}]
       3: a straightaway section of a racetrack
       4: exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their
          full extent [syn: {stretching}]
       5: extension to or beyond the ordinary limit; "running at full
          stretch"; "by no stretch of the imagination"; "beyond any
          stretch of his understanding"
       6: an unbroken period of time during which you do something;
          "there were stretches of boredom"; "he did a stretch in
          the federal penitentiary" [syn: {stint}]
       7: the capacity for being stretched [syn: {stretchiness}, {stretchability}]
       v 1: occupy a large, elongated area; "The park stretched beneath
            the train line" [syn: {stretch along}]
       2: extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body; "Stretch
          your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" [syn:
           {extend}]
       3: extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length;
          "Unfold the newspaper"; "stretch out that piece of cloth";
          "extend the TV antenna" [syn: {unfold}, {stretch out}, {extend}]
       4: become longer by being stretched and pulled; "The fabric
          stretches" [ant: {shrink}]
       5: make long or longer by pulling and stretching; "stretch the
          fabric" [syn: {elongate}]
       6: lie down comfortably; "To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out
          on the grass" [syn: {stretch out}]
       7: pull in opposite directions; "During the Inquisition, the
          torturers would stretch their victims on a rack"
       8: extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly; "Stretch the
          limits"; "stretch my patience"; "stretch the imagination"
       9: corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or
          inferior substance; often by replacing valuable
          ingredients with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn:
          {adulterate}, {dilute}, {debase}]
       10: increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance;
           "stretch the soup by adding some more cream"; "extend the
           casserole with a little rice" [syn: {extend}]
       11: extend one's body or limbs; "Let's stretch for a
           minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours" [syn: {stretch
           out}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  407 Moby Thesaurus words for "stretch":
     adaptability, adaptable, adaptive, add to, aesthetic distance,
     aggrandize, airing, amble, amplify, amplitude, and quarter, answer,
     archery ground, area, athletic field, athletics, augment, avail,
     badminton court, balloon, ballyhoo, baseball field,
     basketball court, be equal to, be lengthy, be prolonged, bear,
     belong, bend, billiard parlor, bit, bloat, bloating, blow up,
     bounce, bounciness, bouncy, bowling alley, bowling green, breadth,
     break, breaking point, breather, broaden, build, build up, bulk,
     bulk out, buoyance, buoyancy, buoyant, burlesque, calisthenics,
     caricature, carry, carry too far, clearance, compass,
     constitutional, continue, continuous tenure, course, court, cover,
     crane, crescendo, cricket ground, croquet ground, croquet lawn,
     daily dozen, day, deep space, depths of space, develop, diamond,
     diapason, dilate, dimensions, distance, distend, distension,
     distort, divergence, do, do it, drag out, draw, draw out,
     draw the longbow, drill, elastic, elasticity, elongate, elongation,
     embellish, encompass, enlarge, enlistment, environ, exaggerate,
     exercise, exercising, expand, expanse, expansion, extend,
     extend out, extensibility, extensile, extension, extent,
     extreme tension, fairway, farness, fateful moment, field, fill out,
     fill the bill, fit, flexibility, flexible, flexile, football field,
     forced march, fudge, fulfill, gamut, get by, gibbet, give,
     glaciarium, go, go around, go out, go to extremes, golf course,
     golf links, greaten, gridiron, gym, gymnasium, gymnastic exercises,
     gymnastics, hack it, hang, haul, heave, hike, hike up, hitch, hold,
     hour, hyperbolize, ice rink, increase, infield, infinity, inflate,
     inflation, instant, interval, isometrics, jaunt, juncture, just do,
     kairos, lay it on, leeway, length, lengthen, lengthen out,
     lengthening, lengthiness, let out, lie, light-years,
     linear measures, links, liveliness, lively, long time, longitude,
     longness, lynch, magnify, make, make much of, make the grade,
     march, margin, measure, meet, meet requirements, mileage, minute,
     moment, moment of truth, mush, neck, noose, orbit, outfield,
     outreach, outstretch, oval, overall length, overcharge,
     overdevelop, overdistend, overdistension, overdo, overdraw,
     overdrawing, overestimate, overexert, overexertion, overexpand,
     overexpansion, overextend, overextension, overpaint, overpraise,
     overreach, overreact, oversell, overspeak, overstate, overstrain,
     overstraining, overstress, overstretch, overstretching, overtax,
     overtaxing, pad, parade, parsecs, pass, pass muster, period,
     peripatetic journey, peripateticism, perpetuity, perspective,
     physical education, physical jerks, piece, pile it on, playground,
     playing field, playroom, point, polo ground, pool hall, poolroom,
     practice, pregnant moment, press, prison term, produce, production,
     prolong, prolongate, prolongation, promenade, protract,
     protraction, psychological moment, puff, puff up, pull, pull out,
     pump, pump up, purview, putting green, qualify, racecourse, rack,
     racket court, radius, raise, ramble, range, rarefy, reach,
     reach out, rebound, region, register, remoteness, resilience,
     resiliency, resilient, responsive, responsiveness, rink, roll, run,
     satisfy, saunter, scale, schlep, scop, scope, scrag, season,
     section, separation, serve, serve the purpose,
     setting-up exercises, skating rink, snap, snapping point, snowball,
     soccer field, space, span, spectrum, spell, spin out, sprawl,
     spread, spring, springiness, springy, squash court, stage, stand,
     stand on tiptoes, stand up, stint, straddle, straggle, strain,
     strain every nerve, straining, stress, stress and strain,
     stressfulness, stretch out, stretch the truth, stretchability,
     stretchable, stretchiness, stretching, stretchy, stride,
     string out, string up, stringing out, stroll, suffice, sufflate,
     supple, surround, sweat blood, sweep, swell, swelling, take in,
     take it, talk big, talk in superlatives, tauten, tax, taxing,
     tennis court, tense, tension, tenure, term, thrust out, tighten,
     time, time lag, tone, tonicity, tonus, tour, tour of duty, tout,
     track, tract, traipse, tramp, travesty, trudge, tug, tumefy, turf,
     turn, up, walk, walking tour, warp, way, ways, whet, while, whippy,
     widen, work, workout, yardage, yoga