stretch

stretch
    adj 1: having an elongated seating area; "a stretch limousine"
    2: easily stretched; "stretch hosiery"
    n 1: a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of
         highway"; "a stretch of clear water"
    2: the act of physically reaching or thrusting out [syn:
       {reach}, {reaching}, {stretch}]
    3: a straightaway section of a racetrack
    4: exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their
       full extent [syn: {stretch}, {stretching}]
    5: extension to or beyond the ordinary limit; "running at full
       stretch"; "by no stretch of the imagination"; "beyond any
       stretch of his understanding"
    6: an unbroken period of time during which you do something;
       "there were stretches of boredom"; "he did a stretch in the
       federal penitentiary" [syn: {stretch}, {stint}]
    7: the capacity for being stretched [syn: {stretch},
       {stretchiness}, {stretchability}]
    v 1: occupy a large, elongated area; "The park stretched beneath
         the train line" [syn: {stretch}, {stretch along}]
    2: extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body; "Stretch
       your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" [syn:
       {stretch}, {extend}]
    3: 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}, {stretch
       out}, {extend}]
    4: become longer by being stretched and pulled; "The fabric
       stretches" [ant: {contract}, {shrink}]
    5: make long or longer by pulling and stretching; "stretch the
       fabric" [syn: {elongate}, {stretch}]
    6: lie down comfortably; "To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out
       on the grass" [syn: {stretch}, {stretch out}]
    7: pull in opposite directions; "During the Inquisition, the
       torturers would stretch their victims on a rack"
    8: extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly; "Stretch the
       limits"; "stretch my patience"; "stretch the imagination"
    9: corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or
       inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients
       with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn: {load},
       {adulterate}, {stretch}, {dilute}, {debase}]
    10: increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance;
        "stretch the soup by adding some more cream"; "extend the
        casserole with a little rice" [syn: {extend}, {stretch}]
    11: extend one's body or limbs; "Let's stretch for a minute--
        we've been sitting here for over 3 hours" [syn: {stretch},
        {stretch out}]
    

Stretch \Stretch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stretched}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Stretching}.] [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D.
   strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. str[aum]cka, Dan.
   straekke; cf. AS. straeck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack
   straight; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to E. strong. Cf.
   {Straight}.]
   1. To reach out; to extend; to put forth.
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            And stretch forth his neck long and small.
                                                  --Chaucer.
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            I in conquest stretched mine arm.     --Shak.
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   2. To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a
      straight line; as, to stretch a cord or rope.
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   3. To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand; as,
      to stretch cloth; to stretch the wings.
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   4. To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
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            The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain.
                                                  --Shak.
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   5. To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain; as, to
      stretch a tendon or muscle.
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            Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve.  --Doddridge.
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   6. To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the
      truth; to stretch one's credit.
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            They take up, one day, the most violent and
            stretched prerogative.                --Burke.
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Stretch \Stretch\, n.
   1. Act of stretching, or state of being stretched; reach;
      effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a
      stretch of the imagination.
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            By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain.
                                                  --Dryden.
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            Those put a lawful authority upon the stretch, to
            the abuse of yower, under the color of prerogative.
                                                  --L'Estrange.
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   2. A continuous line or surface; a continuous space of time;
      as, grassy stretches of land.
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            A great stretch of cultivated country. --W. Black.
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            But all of them left me a week at a stretch. --E.
                                                  Eggleston.
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   3. The extent to which anything may be stretched.
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            Quotations, in their utmost stretch, can signify no
            more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of
            mind.                                 --Atterbury.
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            This is the utmost stretch that nature can.
                                                  --Granville.
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   4. (Naut.) The reach or extent of a vessel's progress on one
      tack; a tack or board.
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   5. Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal.
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   {To be on the stretch}, to be obliged to use one's utmost
      powers.

   {Home stretch}. See under {Home}, a.
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Stretch \Stretch\, v. i.
   1. 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.
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            As far as stretcheth any ground.      --Gower.
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   2. To extend or spread one's self, or one's limbs; as, the
      lazy man yawns and stretches.
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   3. To be extended, or to bear extension, without breaking, as
      elastic or ductile substances.
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            The inner membrane . . . because it would stretch
            and yield, remained umbroken.         --Boyle.
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   4. To strain the truth; to exaggerate; as, a man apt to
      stretch in his report of facts. [Obs. or Colloq.]
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   5. (Naut.) To sail by the wind under press of canvas; as, the
      ship stretched to the eastward. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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   {Stretch out}, an order to rowers to extend themselves
      forward in dipping the oar.
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407 Moby Thesaurus words for "stretch":
      adaptability, adaptable, adaptive, add to, aesthetic distance,
      aggrandize, airing, amble, amplify, amplitude, and quarter, answer,
      archery ground, area, athletic field, athletics, augment, avail,
      badminton court, balloon, ballyhoo, baseball field,
      basketball court, be equal to, be lengthy, be prolonged, bear,
      belong, bend, billiard parlor, bit, bloat, bloating, blow up,
      bounce, bounciness, bouncy, bowling alley, bowling green, breadth,
      break, breaking point, breather, broaden, build, build up, bulk,
      bulk out, buoyance, buoyancy, buoyant, burlesque, calisthenics,
      caricature, carry, carry too far, clearance, compass,
      constitutional, continue, continuous tenure, course, court, cover,
      crane, crescendo, cricket ground, croquet ground, croquet lawn,
      daily dozen, day, deep space, depths of space, develop, diamond,
      diapason, dilate, dimensions, distance, distend, distension,
      distort, divergence, do, do it, drag out, draw, draw out,
      draw the longbow, drill, elastic, elasticity, elongate, elongation,
      embellish, encompass, enlarge, enlistment, environ, exaggerate,
      exercise, exercising, expand, expanse, expansion, extend,
      extend out, extensibility, extensile, extension, extent,
      extreme tension, fairway, farness, fateful moment, field, fill out,
      fill the bill, fit, flexibility, flexible, flexile, football field,
      forced march, fudge, fulfill, gamut, get by, gibbet, give,
      glaciarium, go, go around, go out, go to extremes, golf course,
      golf links, greaten, gridiron, gym, gymnasium, gymnastic exercises,
      gymnastics, hack it, hang, haul, heave, hike, hike up, hitch, hold,
      hour, hyperbolize, ice rink, increase, infield, infinity, inflate,
      inflation, instant, interval, isometrics, jaunt, juncture, just do,
      kairos, lay it on, leeway, length, lengthen, lengthen out,
      lengthening, lengthiness, let out, lie, light-years,
      linear measures, links, liveliness, lively, long time, longitude,
      longness, lynch, magnify, make, make much of, make the grade,
      march, margin, measure, meet, meet requirements, mileage, minute,
      moment, moment of truth, mush, neck, noose, orbit, outfield,
      outreach, outstretch, oval, overall length, overcharge,
      overdevelop, overdistend, overdistension, overdo, overdraw,
      overdrawing, overestimate, overexert, overexertion, overexpand,
      overexpansion, overextend, overextension, overpaint, overpraise,
      overreach, overreact, oversell, overspeak, overstate, overstrain,
      overstraining, overstress, overstretch, overstretching, overtax,
      overtaxing, pad, parade, parsecs, pass, pass muster, period,
      peripatetic journey, peripateticism, perpetuity, perspective,
      physical education, physical jerks, piece, pile it on, playground,
      playing field, playroom, point, polo ground, pool hall, poolroom,
      practice, pregnant moment, press, prison term, produce, production,
      prolong, prolongate, prolongation, promenade, protract,
      protraction, psychological moment, puff, puff up, pull, pull out,
      pump, pump up, purview, putting green, qualify, racecourse, rack,
      racket court, radius, raise, ramble, range, rarefy, reach,
      reach out, rebound, region, register, remoteness, resilience,
      resiliency, resilient, responsive, responsiveness, rink, roll, run,
      satisfy, saunter, scale, schlep, scop, scope, scrag, season,
      section, separation, serve, serve the purpose,
      setting-up exercises, skating rink, snap, snapping point, snowball,
      soccer field, space, span, spectrum, spell, spin out, sprawl,
      spread, spring, springiness, springy, squash court, stage, stand,
      stand on tiptoes, stand up, stint, straddle, straggle, strain,
      strain every nerve, straining, stress, stress and strain,
      stressfulness, stretch out, stretch the truth, stretchability,
      stretchable, stretchiness, stretching, stretchy, stride,
      string out, string up, stringing out, stroll, suffice, sufflate,
      supple, surround, sweat blood, sweep, swell, swelling, take in,
      take it, talk big, talk in superlatives, tauten, tax, taxing,
      tennis court, tense, tension, tenure, term, thrust out, tighten,
      time, time lag, tone, tonicity, tonus, tour, tour of duty, tout,
      track, tract, traipse, tramp, travesty, trudge, tug, tumefy, turf,
      turn, up, walk, walking tour, warp, way, ways, whet, while, whippy,
      widen, work, workout, yardage, yoga