- (v.t.) To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain; as, to stretch a tendon or muscle.
- (v.t.) To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand; as, to stretch cloth; to stretch the wings.
- (v.t.) To reach out; to extend; to put forth.
- (v.i.) 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.
- (n.) The reach or extent of a vessel's progress on one tack; a tack or board.
- (v.i.) To extend or spread one's self or one's limbs; as, the lazy man yawns and stretches.
- (v.i.) To sail by the wind under press of canvas; as, the ship stretched to the eastward.
- (n.) Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal.
- (v.t.) To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a straight line; as, to stretch a cord or rope.
- (n.) The extent to which anything may be stretched.
- (v.i.) To strain the truth; to exaggerate; as, a man apt to stretch in his report of facts.
- (v.t.) To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
- (n.) Act of stretching or state of being stretched; reach; effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a stretch of the imagination.
- (v.t.) To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the truth; to stretch one's credit.
- (v.i.) To be extended or to bear extension, without breaking, as elastic or ductile substances.
- (n.) A continuous line or surface; a continuous space of time; as, grassy stretches of land.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). stretch. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/stretch/definitions/2067077 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "stretch" http://smartdefine.org/stretch/definitions/2067077 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, stretch, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/stretch/definitions/2067077>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "stretch" 28 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/stretch/definitions/2067077> |