stretcher

stretcher
    n 1: a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed
         for oil painting
    2: a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes
       or gloves) by stretching it
    3: a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or
       dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between
       two poles
    4: a stone that forms the top of wall or building [syn:
       {capstone}, {copestone}, {coping stone}, {stretcher}]
    

Stretcher \Stretch"er\, n.
   1. One who, or that which, stretches.
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   2. (Masonry) A brick or stone laid with its longer dimension
      in the line of direction of the wall. --Gwilt.
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   3. (Arch.) A piece of timber used in building.
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   4. (Naut.)
      (a) A narrow crosspiece of the bottom of a boat against
          which a rower braces his feet.
      (b) A crosspiece placed between the sides of a boat to
          keep them apart when hoisted up and griped. --Dana.
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   5. A litter, or frame, for carrying disabled, wounded, or
      dead persons.
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   6. An overstretching of the truth; a lie. [Slang]
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   7. One of the rods in an umbrella, attached at one end to one
      of the ribs, and at the other to the tube sliding upon the
      handle.
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   8. An instrument for stretching boots or gloves.
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   9. The frame upon which canvas is stretched for a painting.
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