The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stretch \Stretch\, 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.
As far as stretcheth any ground.
--Gower. To extend or spread one's self, or one's limbs; as, the lazy man yawns and stretches.
-
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. To strain the truth; to exaggerate; as, a man apt to stretch in his report of facts. [Obs. or Colloq.]
-
(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.
Wiktionary
vb. 1 To lie fully extended 2 To fully extend a part of the body.
WordNet
v. extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length; "Unfold the newspaper"; "stretch out that piece of cloth"; "extend the TV antenna" [syn: unfold, stretch, extend]
lie down comfortably; "To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out on the grass" [syn: stretch]
thrust or extend out; "He held out his hand"; "point a finger"; "extend a hand"; "the bee exserted its sting" [syn: exsert, put out, extend, hold out, stretch forth]
extend one's body or limbs; "Let's stretch for a minute--we've been sitting here for over 3 hours" [syn: stretch]
stretch (the neck) so as to see better; "The women craned their necks to see the President drive by" [syn: crane]
Usage examples of "stretch out".
He sat in as relaxed a way as it was possible to sit in an upright wooden chair, which he had turned slightly away from the table so that he could stretch out his long legs.
We ain't got a second bed, but we have a couch you can stretch out on.
But, after it is distributed, go, if you think proper, and snatch away the share of him who sits next you, or slyly steal it, or stretch out your hand and taste.
She wanted to stretch out her arms over the roofs of the town below, feeling that her fingertips would touch the peaks across.
Renna, and then Kiel, urged Maia to stretch out where a half-dozen other women lay together like swaddled cord-wood, all facing the same way for lack of room to turn.