stretch
/stɹɛtʃ/ · stretch
noun
- An act of stretching. I was right in the middle of a stretch when the phone rang.
- The ability of something to lengthen when pulled. That rubber band has quite a bit of stretch.
- A course of thought that diverges from straightforward logic or requires extraordinary belief. It's a bit of a stretch to call Boris Karloff a comedian.
verb
- To lengthen something by pulling it. I stretched the rubber band until it almost broke.
- To become longer when pulled. The rubber band stretched almost to the breaking point.
- To pull tight. First, stretch the skin over the frame of the drum.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Did you know? The phrase ‘stretch goal’ emerged in corporate jargon to describe an ambitious target beyond normal expectations, and the 1970s toy ‘Stretch Armstrong’ popularized the word for its extreme elasticity.