What does spread mean?

What does spread mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does spread mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space[v] distribute or disperse widely(The invaders spread their language all over the country)[a] distributed or spread over a considerable extent(has ties with many widely dispersed friends eleven million Jews are

spread

spread - The Free Dictionary

[n] process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space

[v] distribute or disperse widely
(The invaders spread their language all over the country)

[a] distributed or spread over a considerable extent
(has ties with many widely dispersed friends eleven million Jews are spread throughout Europe)

[n] a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
(gap between income and outgo the spread between lending and borrowing costs)

[v] become distributed or widespread
(the infection spread Optimism spread among the population)

[a] prepared or arranged for a meal; especially having food set out
(a table spread with food)

[n] farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle)

[v] spread across or over
(A big oil spot spread across the water)

[a] fully extended in width
(outspread wings with arms spread wide)

[n] a haphazard distribution in all directions

[v] spread out or open from a closed or folded state
(open the map spread your arms)

[n] a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers or used in preparing other dishes

[v] cause to become widely known
(spread information circulate a rumor broadcast the news)

[n] a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed
(a banquet for the graduating seniors the Thanksgiving feast they put out quite a spread)

[v] become widely known and passed on
(the rumor spread the story went around in the office)

[n] two facing pages of a book or other publication

[v] strew or distribute over an area
(He spread fertilizer over the lawn scatter cards across the table)

[n] the expansion of a person's girth (especially at middle age)
(she exercised to avoid that middle-aged spread)

[v] move outward
(The soldiers fanned out)

[n] decorative cover for a bed

[v] cover by spreading something over
(spread the bread with cheese)

[n] act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time

[v] distribute over a surface in a layer
(spread cheese on a piece of bread)

Other vocabulary

's gravenhage, s, s wrench, s-shape, s-shaped, s. s. van dine, s. smith stevens, s.t.p., s.u.v., s/n, sa, sa node, saale, saale glaciation, saale river, saame, saami, saarinen, saba, sabah, sabahan, sabal, sabal palmetto, sabaoth, sabaton, sabayon, sabbat, sabbatarian, sabbath, sabbath school, p, p-n junction, p-n-p transistor, p-type semiconductor, p. g. wodehouse, p. p. von mauser, p. t. barnum, p.a., p.a. system, p.e., p.m., p.o., p/e ratio, pa, pa system, pa'anga, paba, pabir, pablo casals, pablo neruda, pablo picasso, pablum, pabulum, pac, pac-man strategy, paca, pace, pace car, pace lap, pacemaker

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.