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Webster 1913 Edition

Stretch

Stretch

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stretched
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stretching
.]
[OE.
strecchen
, AS.
streccan
; akin to D.
strekken
, G.
strecken
, OHG.
strecchen
, Sw.
sträcka
, 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.
And
stretch
forth his neck long and small.
Chaucer.
I in conquest
stretched
mine arm.
Shakespeare
2.
To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a straight line;
as, to
stretch
a cord or rope
.
3.
To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand;
as, to
stretch
cloth; to
stretch
the wings
.
4.
To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
The ox hath therefore
stretched
his yoke in vain.
Shakespeare
5.
To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain;
as, to
stretch
a tendon or muscle
.
Awake, my soul,
stretch
every nerve.
Doddridge.
6.
To exaggerate; to extend too far;
as, to
stretch
the truth; to
stretch
one’s credit
.
They take up, one day, the most violent and
stretched
prerogative.
Burke.

Stretch

,
Verb.
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
.
As far as
stretcheth
any ground.
Gower.
2.
To extend or spread one's self, or one's limbs;
as, the lazy man yawns and
stretches
.
3.
To be extended, or to bear extension, without breaking, as elastic or ductile substances.
The inner membrane . . . because it would
stretch
and yield, remained umbroken.
Boyle.
4.
To strain the truth; to exaggerate;
as, a man apt to
stretch
in his report of facts
.
[Obs. or Colloq.]
5.
(Naut.)
To sail by the wind under press of canvas;
as, the ship
stretched
to the eastward
.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Stretch out
,
an order to rowers to extend themselves forward in dipping the oar.

Stretch

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

Webster 1828 Edition

Stretch

STRETCH

,
Verb.
T.
[L.]
1.
To draw out to greater length; to extend in a line; as, to stretch a cord or a rope.
2.
To extend in breadth; as, to stretch cloth.
3.
To spread; to expand; as, to stretch the wings.
4.
To reach; to extend.
Stretch thine hand to the poor.
5.
To spread; to display; as, to stretch forth the heavens.
6.
To draw or pull out in length; to strain; as, to stretch a tendon or muscle.
7.
To make tense; to strain.
So the stretchd cord the shackled dancer tries.
8.
To extend mentally; as, to stretch the mind or thoughts.
9.
To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the truth; to stretch ones credit.

STRETCH

, v.i.
1.
To be extended; to be drawn out in length or in breadth, or both. A wet hempen cord or cloth contracts; in drying, it stretches.
2.
To be extended; to spread; as, a lake stretches over a hundred miles of earth. Lake Erie stretches from Niagara nearly to Huron. Hence,
3.
To stretch to, is to reach.
4.
To be extended or to bear extension without breaking, as elastic substances.
The inner membrane--because it would stretch and yield, remained unbroken.
5.
To sally beyond the truth; to exaggerate. A man who is apt to stretch, has less credit than others.
6.
In navigation, to sail; to direct a course. It is often understood to signify to sail under a great spread of canvas close hauled. In this it differs from stand, which implies no press of sail. We were standing to the east, when we saw a ship stretching to the southward.
7.
To make violent efforts in running.

STRETCH

,
Noun.
1.
Extension in length or in breadth; reach; as a great stretch of wings.
2.
Effort; struggle; strain.
Those put lawful authority upon the stretch to the abuse of power, under color of prerogative.
3.
Force of body; straining.
By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain.
4.
Utmost extent of meaning.
Quotations, in their utmost stretch, can signify no more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of mind.
5.
Utmost reach of power.
This is the utmost stretch that nature can.
6.
In sailing, a tack; the reach or extent of progress on one tack.
7.
Course; direction; as the stretch of seams of coal.

Definition 2024

stretch

stretch

See also: stretch-

English

Verb

stretch ‎(third-person singular simple present stretches, present participle stretching, simple past and past participle stretched or (obsolete) straught or (obsolete) straight)

  1. (transitive) To lengthen by pulling.
    I stretched the rubber band until it almost broke.‎
  2. (intransitive) To lengthen when pulled.
    The rubber band stretched almost to the breaking point.‎
    • Boyle
      The inner membrane […] because it would stretch and yield, remained unbroken.
  3. (transitive) To pull tight.
    First, stretch the skin over the frame of the drum.‎
  4. (figuratively, transitive) To get more use than expected from a limited resource.
    I managed to stretch my coffee supply a few more days.‎
  5. (figuratively, transitive) To make inaccurate by exaggeration.
    To say crossing the street was brave is stretching the meaning of "brave" considerably.‎
  6. (intransitive) To extend physically, especially from limit point to limit point.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights.
    The beach stretches from Cresswell to Amble.‎
  7. (intransitive, transitive) To extend one’s limbs or another part of the body in order to improve the elasticity of one's muscles
    Cats stretch with equal ease and agility beyond the point that breaks a man on the rack.‎
    I always stretch my muscles before exercising.‎
  8. (intransitive) To extend to a limit point
    His mustache stretched all the way to his sideburns.‎
  9. (transitive) To increase.
    • 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3-3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport:
      Yakubu took advantage of John Ruddy's error to put the visitors back in front, with Chris Samba's header stretching their advantage.
  10. (obsolete, colloquial) To stretch the truth; to exaggerate.
    a man apt to stretch in his report of facts
  11. (nautical) To sail by the wind under press of canvas.
    The ship stretched to the eastward.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ham. Nav. Encyc to this entry?)

See also

Translations

extend one’s limbs or body in order to stretch the muscles

Noun

stretch ‎(plural stretches)

Stretching
  1. An act of stretching.
    I was right in the middle of a stretch when the phone rang.
    To say crossing the street was brave was quite a stretch.
  2. The ability to lengthen when pulled.
    That rubber band has quite a bit of stretch.
  3. A course of thought which diverts from straightforward logic, or requires extraordinary belief.
    It's a bit of a stretch to call Boris Karloff a comedian.
  4. A segment of a journey or route.
    It was an easy trip except for the last stretch, which took forever.
    It's a tough stretch of road in the winter, especially without chains.
  5. A segment or length of material.
    a stretch of cloth
  6. (baseball) A quick pitching delivery used when runners are on base where the pitcher slides his leg instead of lifting it.
  7. (baseball) A long reach in the direction of the ball with a foot remaining on the base by a first baseman in order to catch the ball sooner.
  8. A length of time.
    He did a 7-year stretch in jail.
  9. (informal) Term of address for a tall person.
    • 2007, Michael Farrell, Running with Buffalo
      “Hey, Stretch,” he shouted at a tall, spectacled co-worker, “turn the **** station, will you? You know I can't stand Rush, and it's all they play on this one. If I hear those assholes whine 'Tom Sawyer' one more time, I may go on a **** killing spree.
  10. (Ireland, idiomatic) extended daylight hours, especially said of the evening in springtime when compared to the shorter winter days
    There is a grand stretch in the evenings.

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English strecchen, from Old English streċċan ‎(“to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out, prostrate”), from Proto-Germanic *strakjaną, *strakkijaną ‎(“to stretch, make taut or tight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)treg-, *streg-, *treg- ‎(“stiff, rigid”). Cognate with West Frisian strekke, Dutch strekken ‎(“to stretch, straighten”), German strecken ‎(“to stretch, straighten, elongate”), Danish strække ‎(“to stretch”), Swedish sträcka ‎(“to stretch”), Dutch strak ‎(“taut, tight”), Albanian shtriqem ‎(“to stretch”). More at stark.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stɹɛtʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛtʃ

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