# stretch

Pronunciation: say "STRECH" /stɹɛt͡ʃ/

## Verb

1. To make something longer or wider by pulling it, or to become longer or wider when pulled.
   - Simple: To pull something so it gets longer or wider, or to get longer or wider when pulled.
   - _Try not to stretch the neck of your sweater when you pull it over your head._
   - _The baker stretched the pizza dough with her hands until it covered the whole pan._
2. To extend continuously over an area or distance, often between particular points or as far as a limit.
   - Simple: To reach across an area or distance.
   - _The coastline stretches from the harbor to the distant cliffs._
   - _Power lines stretch across the entire valley._
3. To extend your limbs or another part of the body, often to loosen the muscles.
   - Simple: To reach out your arms, legs, or body to make your muscles loose.
   - _The cat stretched lazily in the afternoon sun._
   - _Dancers stretch their hamstrings before every performance._
7. To make something greater in amount, size, or extent.
   - Simple: To make something greater in amount or size.
   - _The champion stretched her lead with every lap._
   - _Consistent wins stretch a club's lead at the top of the table._
8. To strain something's capacity or resources by demanding a great deal of it.
   - Simple: To push something close to its limits by needing too much from it.
   - _A sudden surge in demand stretched the company's supply chain._
   - _Rising costs stretch household budgets to the breaking point._
10. To pull something so that it becomes tight or taut.
   - Simple: To pull something so that it becomes tight and straight.
   - _Workers stretch the fabric tightly over the frame before stapling it._
   - _He stretched the wire until it was perfectly taut._
12. To make a limited resource go further or last longer than expected.
   - Simple: To make a small amount of money or supplies last longer than expected.
   - _Families learn to stretch every dollar during hard times._
   - _The charity stretched its small budget across dozens of projects._
23. To exaggerate or overstate something, so that it goes beyond the plain truth.
   - Simple: To say something is bigger, better, or more true than it really is.
   - _Some people stretch the numbers to make their sales records look better._
   - _He stretched the story a bit, since the brawl he described lasted only seconds._

## Noun

4. A continuous length or area of something, such as a road, route, land, water, or material.
   - Simple: A long, unbroken part of something, such as a road, river, piece of land, or cloth.
   - _This stretch of highway is notorious for traffic jams._
   - _The river's lower stretches flood every spring._
5. An act of extending the limbs or body, especially to loosen the muscles.
   - Simple: A movement where you reach out your body to loosen your muscles.
   - _He began the day with a long stretch and a yawn._
   - _A few gentle stretches loosened her stiff shoulders._
6. A continuous period of time, often one spent doing a single activity.
   - Simple: A period of time without a break, often spent doing one thing.
   - _She spent a long stretch abroad before settling down._
   - _The team won six games over a short stretch in spring._
9. The capacity of a material to lengthen when pulled.
   - Simple: How much a material can grow longer when you pull it.
   - _This waistband has just enough stretch to feel comfortable._
   - _Cheaper elastic loses its stretch after only a few washes._
11. A line of reasoning that strays from plain logic or demands unusual belief.
   - Simple: An idea that is hard to believe because it goes too far.
   - _Blaming the weather for the team's loss seems like a stretch._
   - _Her theory was a stretch, but it turned out to be right._
15. A period of time served in prison; a prison sentence. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Time that someone spends in prison.
   - _The old man had done more than one stretch behind bars._
   - _They gave him a ten-year stretch for the heist._
16. Short for stretch limousine: a limousine with a lengthened body that gives extra room and seating inside. — Ellipsis of stretch limousine.
   - Simple: Short for stretch limousine: a very long, fancy car.
   - _The celebrities arrived in a black stretch with tinted windows._
   - _A stretch glided down the avenue, drawing every eye._
13. The final straight section of a racetrack leading to the finish line.
   - Simple: The last straight part of a racetrack, just before the finish line.
   - _Two horses battled neck and neck down the stretch._
   - _The favorite faded badly in the stretch and lost._
14. The closing part of a sports season, when teams compete for places in the playoffs or the championship.
   - Simple: The last part of a sports season, before the playoffs.
   - _They acquired two veterans to strengthen the roster for the stretch._
   - _A late slump during the stretch cost them a playoff spot._
17. An informal nickname used to address someone who is notably tall. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A friendly nickname used when talking to a very tall person.
   - _Come on, Stretch, you're the only one tall enough to fix the light._
   - _Throw it here, Stretch, before they block you._
18. In baseball, a pitching delivery from the set position, used mainly with runners on base, in which the pitcher pauses with hands together and skips the full windup.
   - Simple: In baseball, a shorter way of pitching without the full windup, used mostly when runners are on base.
   - _With two men on, the pitcher worked from the stretch all inning._
   - _With a runner on first, the pitcher worked from the stretch to keep him close._
19. A long reach toward the throw by a first baseman, who keeps one foot on the base in order to catch the ball sooner.
   - Simple: A long reach by a first baseman who keeps one foot on the base to catch the ball faster.
   - _A full stretch by the first baseman turned a close play into an easy out._
   - _The throw pulled him off the bag despite a long stretch._
20. The longer hours of daylight, especially the lengthening evenings of springtime as compared with the shorter days of winter. *(Ireland)*
   - Simple: The extra daylight in the evenings, especially in spring after the short days of winter.
   - _By April there was a real stretch in the evenings, and the children played outside until eight._
   - _By early April, everyone in the village was talking about the stretch in the evenings._

## Noun

21. A walk, especially one taken for exercise or pleasure. *(archaic, UK)*
   - Simple: A walk taken for exercise or fresh air.

## Verb

22. To put someone to death by hanging. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To kill someone by hanging them.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To sail close to the wind under a full press of canvas.

## Origin

Middle English strecchen comes from Old English streċċan, which meant "to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out." It goes back to Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan, meaning "to stretch, make taut," and, beyond that, to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "stiff, rigid." Dutch strekken, German strecken and Swedish sträcka, all meaning "to stretch," are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stretch (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).