spreading

Pluralspreadings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of spread.

   Rumors were spreading through the village before nightfall.

   Spreading the blanket over the grass took only a moment.

   Note

   One -ing form does three jobs. With be it makes the progressive (green roofs are spreading fast). As a gerund it names the action and takes an object directly (spreading the blanket). Before a noun it works as an adjective, as in F. S. Bond's "great and spreading network of railways" (1941). Once it takes the and of, as in the spreading of rumors, it has become the noun for the act.

2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The act of distributing or extending something so that it covers a larger area.

   The spreading of false rumors badly damaged her reputation.

   Officials worked through the night to limit the spreading of the infection.

   Similardissemination, circulation, propagation, transmission, diffusion

   Note

   Most often uncountable, the noun can also count separate occasions. Samuel D. Robbins's Wisconsin Birdlife (1991) has meadowlarks feeding on "fresh manure spreadings" in winter, and each spreading there is one application on a field. Use the plural for distinct acts or their results. Use the singular with of, as in the spreading of an infection, for the process as a whole.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   In competitive debate, the act of speaking extremely quickly to present as many arguments as possible within a time limit.

   His spreading overwhelmed the other team, who dropped half of the arguments.

   Coaches still argue over whether spreading helps or hurts the activity.

   Note

   Debaters' slang that only looks like the ordinary word. It is a blend of speed and reading and has nothing to do with spread. Jack McCordick, writing in 2017, describes speeches that often exceeded 300 words per minute. Outside competitive debate a listener will hear the everyday noun instead, so explain the term when writing for general readers.

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