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spread
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
spread
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a blaze spreads
▪ The blaze quickly spread to a neighbouring house.
a disease spreads
▪ The government have no idea how far the disease has spread.
a fire spreads
▪ The fire spread to the house next door.
a grin spreads (=a wide smile covers someone's face)
▪ A self-satisfied grin spread across his face.
a rumour spreads
▪ A rumour spread that he had been killed.
a smile spreads across sb’s face (=they smile)
▪ A faint smile spread across her face.
a stain spreads
▪ A dark stain spread over the grey carpet.
a virus spreads
▪ The virus spread throughout the population.
an infection spreads
▪ The infection spread to her chest.
be spread out over a wide area
▪ The town is spread out over a wide area.
facing/looking/spreading etc outwards
▪ Stand with your elbows pointing outwards.
news spreads (=a lot of people find out the news from other people)
▪ News spreads fast in a small town.
open/spread (sth) wide
▪ Spiro spread his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
▪ Leonora’s eyes opened wide in horror.
▪ The windows had been opened wide and she could feel a slight breeze.
panic spreads (=starts to affect more people in more places)
▪ Panic spread as news of the invasion reached Paris.
preach/spread the gospel (=tell people about it)
▪ Missionaries were sent to preach the Gospel.
▪ gospel stories
spread a rumour
▪ Someone has been spreading rumours about us.
spread an infection (also transmit an infectionformal)
▪ Pregnant women can transmit the infection to their unborn child.
spread betting
spread butter on sth
▪ Lee was spreading butter on his toast.
spread gossip
▪ Someone’s been spreading gossip about Lucy and Ian.
spread lies (=tell them to a lot of people)
▪ How dare you spread such vicious lies?
spread out/unfold a map
▪ We spread out our maps on the floor.
spread propaganda
▪ Several underground organizations were spreading anti-government propaganda.
spread sth with butter
▪ Spread the warm crumpets with butter.
spread the load
▪ They hired more staff in order to spread the load.
spread the news (=tell a lot of people the news)
▪ After she had the baby, her husband made phone calls to spread the happy news.
Spread...evenly
Spread the butter evenly over the toast.
spreading muck
▪ special machinery for spreading muck onto the fields
spread/open its wings
▪ The dragon spread its wings and gave an experimental flap.
spread/preach the gospel
▪ spreading the gospel of science
the rapid spread of sth
▪ Close contact between people resulted in the rapid spread of the disease.
the spread of a disease
▪ Knowing the facts about AIDS can prevent the spread of the disease.
wreckage is strewn/scattered/spread
▪ The wreckage was strewn over a large area.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
across
▪ The path that left the glade was steep and narrow and spread across with ivy and clumps of mauve and white violets.
▪ Today they last a long time and spread across wider territories.
▪ But towards morning heavy clouds spread across.
▪ When she and her siblings spread across three states and half the continent, they served their families hamburgers.
▪ Today that business has spread across all fifty states and fifty-four countries.
around
▪ A number of support centres are spread around and between them is the support network.
▪ Now, with Rice out while he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery, the ball is being spread around.
▪ Thus the dark matter would be spread around in a way that mimicked but exaggerated the initial fluctuations.
▪ Every borrower benefits when there is more money to spread around.
▪ Some will frequent the hostels run by caring organisations which range from the most basic wooden bench with newspapers spread around.
▪ After all, spread around, that's what it would buy.
▪ The wall tore open, rips spreading around the torus as the air rushed outwards.
▪ As she speaks we see a Masai market. Spread around are hundreds of Masai men and women.
evenly
▪ For overcrowding is not spread evenly throughout the system.
▪ Add nut mixture and spread evenly.
▪ Spread evenly with apple and peel mixture.
▪ This aroused the resentment of almost the whole front bench, but Wigg's hostility was not evenly spread.
▪ Although power is widely spread it does not necessarily mean that it is evenly spread between all groups.
▪ But, as we know, demand for seats is not evenly spread.
▪ Unlike the greenhouse gases, which spread evenly across the globe, sulphur dioxide's effects are short-lived and regional.
▪ Royal icing takes a little practice to spread evenly and pipe, but the results are well worth the effort.
out
▪ There are still strong emotional attachments to these outposts, which are spread out over the valley.
▪ Her office is dominated by a large oak table where she spreads out her work.
▪ When they spot some promising zebras, or antelopes, they spread out into a line.
▪ As you see, the light was spread out uniformly over a wide angle.
▪ Like a wolf pack scenting easy prey, they dismounted and spread out.
▪ Why construct a hero so multiple, so spread out, so fugitive?
▪ The beach is narrow and sandy with enough room to spread out.
▪ But it is thin, spread out, invisible even to itself.
outwards
▪ Closely packed terraces of Victorian houses were spread outwards as the population grew.
▪ And then the slow ink spreading outwards and the wheels turning and a voice, it was Vasco's, warning him.
▪ A cloud of long fair hair spread outwards in the water.
▪ In this case I think it is more likely that limestone deposition started in several or many different centres and spread outwards.
over
▪ For 20 days spread over 1988 and 1989 he compared spot and futures returns for five-minute periods.
▪ At least 20 sessions, spread over several days, are required to remove the major effects of practice.
▪ Brush the glaze while still hot over a fruit cake, but allow to cool slightly before spreading over a sponge cake.
▪ The result is an evening of Wagnerian dimension spread over four and a half hours.
▪ The exchange would be spread over five years.
▪ A dark stain spread over the grey patterned carpet.
quickly
▪ It spreads quickly once inside the victim and is soon being circulated in the bloodstream.
▪ Although news of her work in Motijhil had spread quickly, they had almost no financial means.
▪ During the Pleistocene, Stone Age man appeared on the scene in Java and spread quickly.
▪ The idea spread quickly to other cities.
▪ Juliet felt a strange sort of throbbing inside her, that quickly spread like tentacles of fever through her body.
▪ The rumor quickly spread among the black soldiers that other blacks were being brutalized by the police.
▪ The industrial action quickly spread to transport and municipal workers and workers on tea, sugar and tobacco plantations.
▪ The controversy quickly spread beyond the pages of the Reader.
rapidly
▪ The epidemic is dynamic, unstable and continuing to spread rapidly.
▪ The new system has usurped almost all health care in California and is rapidly spreading nationwide.
▪ But out of sight the roots from which they grow are spreading rapidly.
▪ The news spread rapidly throughout the city and everyone came to see the wonderful sight.
▪ This habit apparently began in Southampton and rapidly spread nation-wide.
▪ Ticketless travel, which actually began several years ago, is spreading rapidly throughout the airline industry.
▪ Stories that he was physically or mentally ill had, in fact, spread rapidly in summer 1942.
▪ This distorted form of Buddhism spread rapidly thanks to a vast network of male and female monastic communities.
thinly
▪ The ozone molecules are very thinly spread within this area but their fragile existence nevertheless serves a vital function to life.
▪ Quickly pour into the 2 buttered pans and spread thinly over entire surface of each.
▪ The ointment should be spread thinly on the bruised areas.
▪ The flesh was thinly spread upon the elongated skull, the motionless hands were bony claws.
▪ Some one must lose, even if the losses are spread thinly.
▪ You could also thinly spread some glue on the cracker and sprinkle some glitter powder over it.
▪ Lunch Two slices of toasted wholemeal bread spread thinly with Flora margarine and topped with 2 oz. grated cheddar cheese.
▪ Set aside one cake for the top and thinly spread the rest with jam.
widely
▪ These advances, which have had an impact in both basic and applied research, are again spread widely among the disciplines.
▪ Word spread widely and quickly, through the networks, even through underground comic books where the illiterate could read them.
▪ They evolved rapidly and spread widely, and have a range of distinctive characters to help the investigator in his identifications.
▪ Skilled artisans are employed by private entrepreneurs in units mainly of cottage-proportions, widely spread in villages and small towns.
▪ His innovation spread widely and quickly.
▪ During the first half of the eighteenth century no other sect was as widely spread as the Quakers.
▪ They noted that the virus may not have had time to spread widely.
■ NOUN
area
▪ The ozone molecules are very thinly spread within this area but their fragile existence nevertheless serves a vital function to life.
▪ It apparently started in a trash can and spread to the attic area of an 80-room wing of the motel.
▪ This scheme, which has now spread to other areas, obviously influenced the Griffiths proposals.
▪ Resistance can emerge rapidly and spread from one geographic area to another and from one organism to another.
▪ The accident, which left wreckage spread over a wide area, blocked the road causing severe traffic disruption.
▪ The only way you survive is to spread to another area.
▪ Massage can help cramp and can prevent it spreading to other areas.
country
▪ Several days of unrest followed which spread across the country and involved thousands of students.
▪ Books be-came more available and, in turn, they spread learning throughout the country.
▪ There is now a real risk that nuclear weapons will spread to several other countries.
▪ Pray that the conflict would not spread to neighbouring countries.
▪ The Spring Collection 1993 was introduced to the trade at ten different roadshows spread throughout the country.
disease
▪ Infectious diseases that now spread more easily because of increased worldwide travel.
▪ However, there is no scientific proof that the disease can be spread by eating contaminated beef.
▪ Braintree Council is desperate for the disease not to spread to the district.
▪ The fear, of course, was that the disease would spread to the centers of Western civilization.
▪ Dysentery and other diseases tend to spread easily in schools and poor facilities clearly make matters worse.
▪ When the disease continued to spread, she looked for something different and found MDExpert.
▪ The scientists are examining the rate at which disease spreads among plants within recirculation systems in glasshouses.
▪ Put simply, differences of behavior become increasingly significant the more difficult the disease agent is to spread.
face
▪ He could see a hurt, misunderstood look spreading across Karen's face.
▪ He felt a relieved smile spreading over his face and something like freedom in his heart.
▪ Mrs Toye stared at her and a strange smile spread across her face.
▪ Affectionate pity spread over his face.
▪ A thin smile, like a scar, spread across his face.
▪ A big smile suddenly spread across her face.
▪ A look of relief as much as elation spread over Lewis's face when confirmation came of her victory.
▪ He kept silent, a feline grin spreading across his face.
floor
▪ Pools of viscous liquid started to spread across the floor.
▪ It has more than 1, 900 rooms spread over 43 floors, topped by the revolving View Restaurant.
▪ The faded newspaper from the sky had been carefully spread out on the floor of one of the old sheds.
▪ The newcomers spread out across the floor of the tavern, whilst customers dodged hurriedly out of their way.
▪ A red glow spread out across the floor almost like blood, and washed against the back wall.
▪ Water spread across the floor in a greasy stream, mingling with the pile of filthy rushes.
▪ There were some other, mostly elderly ladies and they reclined on the divans spread on the floor.
▪ He took out a thick bundle of folded maps, selected several, and spread them on the floor.
gospel
▪ It spread the cooperative gospel amongst women as consumers and purchasers.
▪ While Buckley spread the gospel at the Moscone Center, the curtain went up on widespread management departures.
▪ Now back home, they are spreading the new gospel of dissent.
▪ And Coopers &038; Lybrand is one of a host of evangelists who spread this gospel.
▪ Keep spreading the gospel, it needs to be heard.
▪ Matthew, Mark, Luke and John spreading the gospel.
hand
▪ The man leaned forwards and spread out his hands.
▪ His back spread, his hands came together; the oars took flight.
▪ Benny was equally at a loss, she just shrugged and spread out her hands helplessly.
▪ Louis spoke, letting go of his beret to spread his hands.
▪ Parkin spread his hands in a gesture of uncertainty.
▪ The Dalek Killer spread his hands across the panel of buttons.
▪ He spread his empty hands to show her he meant no harm.
leg
▪ She sat on the bed and pulled up her skirt to her waist, then lay back and spread her legs.
▪ He spread his legs and tensed his fingers.
▪ Be careful to spread the legs, not as far as they can go, but only as far as is comfortable.
▪ A hushed audience watched her spread her legs, and present the broom handle to her open crotch.
▪ I envisaged a deadly tarantula creeping slowly into my bed, spreading its legs over me, about to bite!
load
▪ More could be done to encourage flexible or staggered working hours and spread the traffic load.
▪ The best are fairly wide to spread the load and well padded - often with dual-density foam.
▪ Use of the top tensioners also helps to spread the load over the whole of the shoulder harness.
▪ The block of softwood can be used to spread the load when using the hammer.
▪ It's worth trying to draw up a list like this, because it ensures that you spread the load.
▪ Whether more participants spreads the load of sin is not altogether clear.
message
▪ They were continually spreading the message that the library is an integral part of the school's operation.
▪ Forbes is traveling the country at an impressive clip, spreading his flat-tax message and pocketing IOUs from Republican pols.
▪ The managers of such funds are on the stump, spreading the message that their day has come at last.
▪ And with an estimated $ 5, 000 in contributions, he has tried to spread his message through community group meetings.
▪ His intention was to contact people and spread his message to the world.
▪ She speaks to the media from her home and travels a week out of every month to spread her message of awareness.
▪ Production was severely disrupted in all departments during the afternoon as the shop stewards spread the message.
▪ But once they get back home they continue to spread the Falun Gong message.
net
▪ Conversation was desultory for we were all exhausted though Mandeville declared that tomorrow he would spread his net.
▪ It was argued in Chapter 2 that the criminal law ought to spread its net wider where the potential harm is greater.
▪ The Contempt of Court Act 1991 spreads a wider net over everyone who reports or handles news.
▪ Furse spread his net wide, but it did not sink deep.
news
▪ As news of it spread, more people became interested and wanted to take part.
▪ As news of the shooting spread, Overtown exploded like tinder in a lightning storm.
▪ The news had spread like wildfire.
▪ Once the researchers returned to shore, news of their findings spread rapidly through the scientific community.
▪ The news spread as quickly as the horrendous fire which engulfed the fallen plane.
▪ The news spread rapidly throughout the city and everyone came to see the wonderful sight.
▪ As news of his triptych spread, he fell under increasing suspicion.
▪ As news of the killings spread, the politicians and leaders reacted.
rumours
▪ About 50m messages are sent each day, turning mobile phones into a convenient medium for spreading rumours about the president.
▪ They were spreading rumours that Mac and I knew the starter and that I had got away with a false start.
▪ The Reds spread the rumours of its destruction, but there was no evidence to support this.
▪ They were jealous of his success, they spread rumours about him - lies.
▪ Let no one be forewarned, to go in fear or spread rumours.
▪ It wasn't that people did not spread false rumours.
wildfire
▪ The slander spread like wildfire and was only checked when the drunk who invented it confessed in a magistrates court.
▪ Word of it spread like wildfire among geophysicists.
▪ The news had spread like wildfire.
▪ Not all of these students would be involved in work-based learning even if the movement spread like wildfire, but many would.
▪ With the spectre of a ruinous trade war looming which could spread like wildfire round the world.
▪ When low performance leads to an organizational crisis, rumors of executive malfeasance spread like wildfire among rank-and-file members.
▪ But on the streets the book's reputation spread like wildfire, selling thousands of copies in Brixton alone.
word
▪ New faces were still pouring into the room as word spread that the Chief Whip was entertaining.
▪ He meant to get off, I think, but was petrified. Word of his handicap spread.
▪ And then word began to spread of this dashing, spirited young Yorkshirewoman who was hunting her way home.
▪ Already word was beginning to spread of the missing U-2.
▪ It will run for six months, and we are still optimistic that more fragments may surface, as word spreads.
▪ As word of the accusation spread, more council delegates have opposed the initiative, Arviso said.
▪ Even if Frome's death has nothing to do with your wife's ... ministrations, the word has spread now.
▪ But as word of the device spread, the machines could not be made fast enough.
■ VERB
begin
▪ Students erected barricades and strikes began to spread throughout the universities and high schools.
▪ A fire had begun to spread in me.
▪ From this traditional privilege of Reims, the fame and popularity of Champagne wines first began to spread.
▪ Slowly and selectively the understanding of change and the desire to participate began to spread.
▪ Foam began to spread through the air as the fire-fighting systems reacted automatically to the emergency.
▪ A glow began to spread warmly through her.
help
▪ The use of the new printing technology helped in spreading the word.
▪ They are small grains with a little wing attached on each side, which helps them spread by the wind.
▪ You will help spread the word, won't you?
▪ Members of Boston's crew weren't the only ones who helped spread the word.
▪ Use of the top tensioners also helps to spread the load over the whole of the shoulder harness.
▪ He has, in turn, helped spread the interest to other schools in Phoenix.
▪ The new venture using satellite telecommunications would also help spread the most up-to-date information to industries.
▪ Additionally, the Internet is helping spread the word about the Dvorak layout far wider and faster than was previously possible.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
cast/spread your net wide
▪ Furse spread his net wide, but it did not sink deep.
▪ I cast my net wide enough to find parents who vary from house cleaner to fashion designer to electrician to corporate manager.
▪ It was argued in Chapter 2 that the criminal law ought to spread its net wider where the potential harm is greater.
▪ Later that afternoon the police, who had been diligently searching certain caravans on Turpin's Field, spread their net wider.
▪ We cast our net wider and in a different direction.
middle-aged spread
▪ At 40, you developed something flabby, disgusting and unavoidable called middle-aged spread and your waist disappeared along with your energy.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Spread the frosting over the warm pastries.
Spreading the work around will help us meet the project deadline.
▪ A single tractor was slowly spreading fertilizer over a huge wheatfield.
▪ After she died at a San Jose hospital, word spread fast.
▪ AIDS is not spread by common everyday contact.
▪ By then, the flood water had spread across 80 square miles of farmland.
▪ Cholera is spreading through the refugee camps at an alarming rate.
▪ Make sure that you spread the glue on both surfaces.
▪ Malaria, spread by mosquitoes, is one of the biggest public health problems in Africa.
▪ Meyer and his team were the first to show how the disease spreads from animals to humans.
▪ News of the disaster was spreading quickly.
▪ Panic spread through downtown Port-au-Prince.
▪ Refugees have entered the south of the country and are spreading northwards.
▪ Rumors about Amy spread through the school.
▪ She spread the toast with butter and jam.
▪ She knocked over her glass, and a dark pool of wine spread over the tablecloth.
▪ The fire is spreading out of control.
▪ The fire quickly spread to several nearby factories.
▪ The forest fires in the Northwest are spreading out of control.
▪ The lawsuit charged the magazine with spreading lies about the company and its products.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Here, a key way for an individual to spread his or her point of view is to get connected.
▪ I don't want the mess spreading back into my working world.
▪ In one, the businessperson allocated time, spreading the project over several weeks.
▪ She was on a sheet, naked with her legs spread apart.
▪ Thus a gene for chromosomal fratricide will spread as surely as a murderer will inherit the Earth.
▪ When it is placed in a container it spreads uniformly throughout the whole volume of the container.
▪ When low performance leads to an organizational crisis, rumors of executive malfeasance spread like wildfire among rank-and-file members.
▪ With the large number of children spread out over the country, it was inevitable that visits were infrequent.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
broad
▪ Again, although skewness may be computed for the central segment of the distribution, for most purposes broader spreads are used.
▪ Today's student teachers and young graduates undoubtedly represent a broader spread of social background - and this is to be welcomed.
geographical
▪ The appeal of a merger included widening Martineau's client base, a greater geographical spread and having more resources.
▪ We also looked for a geographical spread of writers.
▪ The geographical spread of the observers is skewed.
▪ The geographical spread is reasonable, though doubtless there will be some omissions apparent depending on where you are based.
low
▪ Can I use low-fat spread on my sandwiches?
▪ Many low-fat spreads still have a remarkably high fat content-some contain as much as 60 per cent fat.
▪ If it seeks too low a spread, its issue may fail, thus damaging its chances of making further issues.
rapid
▪ The rapid spread of small arms and light weapons facilitate the recruitment of child soldiers.
▪ The result has been a rapid spread of unsightly buildings across the countryside.
▪ All three factors are thought to have played a part in the rapid spread of the disease.
wide
▪ The assets are actively managed and represent a wide spread of fixed interest stocks, U.K. and overseas equity shares and property.
▪ Table 3. 2 provides individual estimate for gaseous coal seams with the geometric mean used wherever a wide spread is given.
▪ At the bottom of the page, one case had a wide spread to itself.
▪ Those assembled along the hill lines are keeping alive one of the world's most ancient and wide spread fertility rites.
▪ It incorporates a wide spread of disciplines and its members have been, or are, involved in a variety of professions.
▪ This journal has a long and distinguished history, publishing mainly shorter papers on a wide spread of subjects.
▪ Very few papers indeed, therefore, had a wide spread of shareholders.
▪ But it always pays to use as wide a spread of sires as possible.
■ NOUN
cheese
▪ Rub in the butter with the hands, then add the low-fat cheese spread and work in with the hands.
▪ Blend with cream cheese and grated Cheddar to create a cheese spread.
■ VERB
contribute
▪ What part animal carriage contributes to the spread of this organism in the environment is not clear.
control
▪ The Government wants to control the spread of the varroa mite, a parasite which can weaken and eventually kill bees.
▪ Cross reference - which requires the disambiguation of word senses in the definitions to control the spread of activation caused by cross-referencing.
▪ Investigating and controlling the spread of tuberculosis socially is as difficult as understanding the body's internal defences against the disease.
encourage
▪ Zhao was also accused of encouraging the spread of bourgeois liberalization and personal corruption.
▪ It is also Company policy to encourage the spread of information regarding developments affecting both an employee's workplace and Company wide.
halt
▪ None has succeeded in halting the spread of violence.
▪ But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy.
▪ More ominously, the effort to halt the nuclear spread could also stall.
▪ It would also put in jeopardy the global effort to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.
▪ Such exemplary action would do much to halt the spread of these evil weapons.
help
▪ They have been helped by the spread of a non-reverential way of thinking.
point
▪ The benchmark 5-year sterling swap spread fell 4 basis points to 36 basis points.
▪ The benchmark five-year deutsche mark swap spread fell 1 basis point to 45 basis points.
▪ The benchmark 5-year sterling swap spread was unchanged at 34 basis points.
prevent
▪ They have to plan and act quickly to prevent any spread to other animals or humans.
▪ The major effect of the anticonvulsant drugs is to prevent that kind of spread.
▪ Remember, treat all contacts to prevent spread.
▪ One was to segregate lepers in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
▪ Information is needed too about the part the patient is expected to play in preventing the spread of infection.
▪ Essential oils can be sprayed around the sick room to prevent the spread of infection during epidemics.
▪ At the Royal Show the Agriculture Minister insisted there are adequate measures to prevent the spread of disease.
▪ Some strains of bees prevent the spread of the disease by removing the rotting larvae.
price
▪ The debentures, which are callable after one year, were priced at a spread of 70 basis points above Treasurys.
▪ The debt, which is noncallable, was priced at a spread of 55 basis points above Treasurys.
reduce
▪ A return to manual harvesting would also reduce dramatically the spread of infection.
stop
▪ The Thatcher government has opposed planning controls over agriculture that could have stopped the spread of intensive arable farming.
▪ Broadcasters lobbied to stop the spread of cable and succeeded for many years.
▪ As far as Marenches was concerned, the most important thing for a Western intelligence agency was to stop the spread of Communism.
▪ Halt the nuclear arms race, for one thing; stop the spread of nuclear weapons, for another.
▪ What can be done to stop the spread of this silent architectural disease creeping through the veins and arteries of our cities?
▪ I had visited her often in the London hospital where vain efforts were made to stop the spread of cancer.
swap
▪ The benchmark 5-year sterling swap spread fell 4 basis points to 36 basis points.
▪ The benchmark five-year deutsche mark swap spread fell 1 basis point to 45 basis points.
▪ The benchmark 5-year sterling swap spread was unchanged at 34 basis points.
yield
▪ Reoffered at 99. 708 to yield a spread flat to the three-year Treasury note.
▪ Reoffered at 99. 845 to yield a spread at the launch of three basis points above U. S. Treasurys.
▪ The offering yields a spread of 30 basis points above the Treuhand due Jan. 2003.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ The only way to prevent the spread of tuberculosis is to cure those infected by the disease.
▪ There's a big three-page spread about them in Sunday's paper.
▪ There was a nice spread at the reception after the wedding.
▪ They were looking forward to the spread that Judith had prepared.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But the spread of Internet use outside the United States is converting a national mess into a global one.
▪ More ominously, the effort to halt the nuclear spread could also stall.
▪ The process of proletarianisation has also received some impetus from the spread of agribusiness in the region.
▪ The Thatcher government has opposed planning controls over agriculture that could have stopped the spread of intensive arable farming.
▪ This spread is about 0. 05 percentage point tighter than a month ago, traders said.
▪ This led us to ask if there was intrafamilial spread of H pylori.
▪ We always pause just where we can see the majestic spread of Notre Dame.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Spread

Spread \Spread\, n.

  1. Extent; compass.

    I have got a fine spread of improvable land.
    --Addison.

  2. Expansion of parts.

    No flower hath spread like that of the woodbine.
    --Bacon.

  3. A cloth used as a cover for a table or a bed.

  4. A table, as spread or furnished with a meal; hence, an entertainment of food; a feast. [Colloq.]

  5. A privilege which one person buys of another, of demanding certain shares of stock at a certain price, or of delivering the same shares of stock at another price, within a time agreed upon. [Brokers' Cant]

  6. (Geom.) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.

  7. (Finance) An arbitrage transaction operated by buying and selling simultaneously in two separate markets, as Chicago and New York, when there is an abnormal difference in price between the two markets. It is called a

    back spreadwhen the difference in price is less than the normal one.

  8. (Gems) Surface in proportion to the depth of a cut stone.

Spread

Spread \Spread\ (spr[e^]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spread; p. pr. & vb. n. Spreading.] [OE. spreden, AS. spr[ae]dan; akin to D. spreiden, spreijen, LG. spreden, spreen, spreien, G. spreiten, Dan. sprede, Sw. sprida. Cf. Spray water flying in drops.]

  1. To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail.

    He bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent.
    --Gen. xxxiii. 19.

    Here the Rhone Hath spread himself a couch.
    --Byron.

  2. To extend so as to cover something; to extend to a great or greater extent in every direction; to cause to fill or cover a wide or wider space.

    Rose, as in a dance, the stately trees, and spread Their branches hung with copious fruit.
    --Milton.

  3. To divulge; to publish, as news or fame; to cause to be more extensively known; to disseminate; to make known fully; as, to spread a report; -- often accompanied by abroad.

    They, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
    --Matt. ix. 31.

  4. To propagate; to cause to affect great numbers; as, to spread a disease.

  5. To diffuse, as emanations or effluvia; to emit; as, odoriferous plants spread their fragrance.

  6. To strew; to scatter over a surface; as, to spread manure; to spread lime on the ground.

  7. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions; as, to spread a table.

    Boiled the flesh, and spread the board.
    --Tennyson.

    To spread cloth, to unfurl sail. [Obs.]
    --Evelyn.

    Syn: To diffuse; propagate; disperse; publish; distribute; scatter; circulate; disseminate; dispense.

Spread

Spread \Spread\, v. i.

  1. To extend in length and breadth in all directions, or in breadth only; to be extended or stretched; to expand.

    Plants, if they spread much, are seldom tall.
    --Bacon.

    Governor Winthrop, and his associates at Charlestown, had for a church a large, spreading tree.
    --B. Trumbull.

  2. To be extended by drawing or beating; as, some metals spread with difficulty.

  3. To be made known more extensively, as news.

  4. To be propagated from one to another; as, the disease spread into all parts of the city.
    --Shak.

Spread

Spread \Spread\, imp. & p. p. of Spread, v. Spread eagle.

  1. An eagle with outspread wings, the national emblem of the United States.

  2. The figure of an eagle, with its wings elevated and its legs extended; often met as a device upon military ornaments, and the like.

  3. (Her.) An eagle displayed; an eagle with the wings and legs extended on each side of the body, as in the double-headed eagle of Austria and Russia. See Displayed, 2.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
spread

1620s, "act of spreading;" 1690s, "extent or expanse of something," from spread (v.). Meaning "copious meal" dates from 1822; sense of "food for spreading" (butter, jam, etc.) is from 1812. Sense of "bed cover" is recorded from 1848, originally American English. Meaning "degree of variation" is attested from 1929. Meaning "ranch for raising cattle" is attested from 1927.

spread

c.1200, "to stretch out, to lay out; diffuse, disseminate" (transitive), also "to advance over a wide area" (intransitive); probably from Old English sprædan "to spread, stretch forth, extend" (especially in tosprædan "to spread out," and gesprædung "spreading"), from Proto-Germanic *spreit- (cognates: Danish sprede, Old Swedish spreda, Middle Dutch spreiden, Old High German and German spreiten "to spread"), extended form of PIE root *sper- (4) "to strew" (see sprout (v.)). Reflexive sense of "to be outspread" is from c.1300; that of "to extend, expand" is attested from mid-14c. Transitive sense of "make (something) wide" is from late 14c. As an adjective from 1510s. Related: Spreading.

Wiktionary
spread

n. 1 The act of spreading or something that has been spread. 2 An expanse of land. 3 A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch. 4 A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread). 5 A large meal, especially one laid out on a table. 6 (context bread, etc. English) Any form of food designed to be spread such as butters or jams 7 An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page. 8 A numerical difference. 9 (context business economics English) The difference between the wholesale and retail prices. 10 (context trading economics finance English) The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity. 11 (context trading finance English) The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity. 12 (context trading finance English) The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity. 13 (context trading English) An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies. 14 (context trading English) The difference between bid price and asking price. 15 (context finance English) The difference between the prices of two similar items. 16 (context geometry English) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points. 17 The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. (from 13th c.) 2 (context transitive English) To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. (from 13th c.) 3 (context transitive English) To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given are

  1. (from 13th c.) 4 (context intransitive English) To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated. (from 13th c.)

WordNet
spread
  1. adj. distributed or spread over a considerable extent; "has ties with many widely dispersed friends"; "eleven million Jews are spread throughout Europe" [syn: dispersed]

  2. prepared or arranged for a meal; especially having food set out; "a table spread with food"

  3. fully extended in width; "outspread wings"; "with arms spread wide" [syn: outspread]

spread
  1. n. process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space [syn: spreading]

  2. a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures; "gap between income and outgo"; "the spread between lending and borrowing costs" [syn: gap]

  3. farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle) [syn: ranch, cattle ranch, cattle farm]

  4. a haphazard distribution in all directions [syn: scatter]

  5. a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers [syn: paste]

  6. a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed; "a banquet for the graduating seniors"; "the Thanksgiving feast"; "they put out quite a spread" [syn: banquet, feast]

  7. two facing pages of a book or other publication [syn: spread head, spreadhead, facing pages]

  8. the expansion of a person's girth (especially at middle age); "she exercised to avoid that middle-aged spread"

  9. decorative cover for a bed [syn: bedspread, bedcover, bed cover, bed covering, counterpane]

  10. act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time [syn: spreading]

spread
  1. v. distribute or disperse widely; "The invaders spread their language all over the country" [syn: distribute] [ant: gather]

  2. become distributed or widespread; "the infection spread"; "Optimism spread among the population" [syn: propagate]

  3. spread across or over; "A big oil spot spread across the water" [syn: overspread]

  4. spread out or open from a closed or folded state; "open the map"; "spread your arms" [syn: unfold, spread out, open] [ant: fold]

  5. cause to become widely known; "spread information"; "circulate a rumor"; "broadcast the news" [syn: circulate, circularize, circularise, distribute, disseminate, propagate, broadcast, diffuse, disperse, pass around]

  6. become widely known and passed on; "the rumor spread"; "the story went around in the office" [syn: go around, circulate]

  7. strew or distribute over an area; "He spread fertilizer over the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table" [syn: scatter, spread out]

  8. move outward; "The soldiers fanned out" [syn: diffuse, spread out, fan out]

  9. cover by spreading something over; "spread the bread with cheese"

  10. distribute over a surface in a layer; "spread cheese on a piece of bread"

Wikipedia
Spread

Spread may refer to:

  • Statistical dispersion
  • Spread (food), an edible paste put on other foods
  • the score difference being wagered on in spread betting
  • Spread (rational trigonometry), the measure of line inclination in rational trigonometry
  • Temperature-Dewpoint spread, dew point depression
  • Two-page spread a redundant term, also simply called "spread", referring to two adjacent, facing pages in a magazine or other publication with conjoined or connected content
  • In finance, the difference in price between related securities,
    • Bid-offer spread, between the buying and selling price of a commodity or security
    • Spread trade, between two related securities or commodities
    • Option-adjusted spread, on mortgage backed securities where the borrower has the right to repay in full
    • Yield spread, difference in percentage rate of return of two instruments
    • Z-spread, on mortgage backed securities
    • Credit spread (bond), on bonds
  • a term used for speed reading in policy debate.
  • The laying of Tarot cards for divinatory uses.
  • Spread (film), a 2009 film
  • Spread, West Virginia
  • Bedspread, for protective or decorative use.
  • Spread; a group of vessels used in a maritime construction project
Spread (food)

A spread is a food that is literally spread, generally with a knife, onto food products such as bread and crackers. Spreads are added to food in order to enhance the flavor or texture of the food, which may be considered bland without it. Spreads should be distinguished from dips, such as salsa, which are generally not applied to spread onto food but have food dipped into them instead.

Common spreads include dairy spreads (such as cheeses, creams, and butters—although the term butter is broadly applied to many spreads), plant-derived spreads (such as jams, jellies, and hummus), yeast spreads (such as Vegemite and Marmite), and meat-based spreads (such as pâté).

Spread (film)

Spread is a 2009 sex comedy film starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche and directed by David Mackenzie. The film was released under the name L.A. Gigolo in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as Toy Boy in France, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands, Oh yeah in Argentina, as American Playboy in Spain and Portugal, Jogando com Prazer in Brazil, Love, Sex and Celebrity in Japan, and S-Lover in South Korea. The film was released on January 17 at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on August 14, 2009 in North American theatres.

Usage examples of "spread".

The purpose of those killings could only have been to dupe whoever was on the receiving end of those subconscious television messages into believing that this Abraxas character is some sort of Lone Ranger, spreading good wherever he goes.

When the tentacles do not begin moving for a much longer time, namely, from half an hour to three or four hours, the particles have been slowly brought into contact with the glands, either by the secretion being absorbed by the particles or by its gradual spreading over them, together with its consequent quicker evaporation.

Lowbacca warned that the corvettes coming from Myrkr were accelerating and spreading out, and the half-dozen vessels they had been following were turning toward the cruiser.

In spite of all these considerations, I felt a sort of pleasure in accepting for ready cash all the counterfeit coins that she had spread out before me.

This was the precise period of time in which our fathers adopted, and during which they followed, a policy restricting the spread of slavery, and the whole Union was acquiescing in it.

Her sails spread slowly, catching the outwind of the local sun, their lead surfaces adazzle in shifting, light show display.

It seemed impossible that the news had spread so quickly from Wes to filter into this group of customers, but then Addle only had to look as far as herself to know that it had happened before.

His snow-white hair wasparted neatly to the side, and in the center of his forehead was adeep purple welt that spread down into his right eye.

They still preserved their former habitation of Pella, spread themselves into the villages adjacent to Damascus, and formed an inconsiderable church in the city of Beroea, or, as it is now called, of Aleppo, in Syria.

Perhaps an adrenalectomy at the beginning would have helped, says Anna, but it is too late now that cancer has spread.

Almost immediately they crept out from behind the island they could see the lights on the mainland, two or three pinpricks from the watch fires on the walls of the fort, and lantern beams from the buildings outside the walls, spread out along the se afront The three vessels he had spotted from the saddle of the mountains were still anchored in the roads.

Their footsteps rang hollowly behind her under the spreading branches of the tall ahuehuete trees.

But she saw the veil he had spread over his resentment, and, his assumed tranquillity only alarming her more, she urged, at length, the impolicy of forcing an interview with Montoni, and of taking any measure, which might render their separation irremediable.

Spies had been circulated about Alb to spread the rumor that Penvey was to be attacked.

When Alec had pulled the lacings snug, he carefully draped a gauzy wimple over his hair, binding it with a silk cord and arranging the folds to spread gracefully over his shoulders.