spread

spread¹ W2S2 [spred] v past tense and past participle spread

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1¦(affect more people/places)¦

2¦(information/ideas)¦

3¦(open/arrange)¦

4¦(throughout an area)¦

5¦(soft substance)¦

6¦(arms/fingers etc)¦

7¦(over time)¦

8¦(share)¦

9¦(smile/look)¦

10 spread your wings

11

12 spread seeds/manure/fertilizer

Phrasal verbs

　spread out

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[: Old English; Origin: sprAdan]

1.) ¦(AFFECT MORE PEOPLE/PLACES)¦ [I and T]

if something spreads or is spread, it becomes larger or moves so that it affects more people or a larger area

spread through

▪ Fire quickly spread through the building.

spread over

▪ He watched the dark stain spread over the gray carpet.

▪ The disease spread rapidly amongst the poor.

spread (from sth) to sth

▪ The cancer had spread to her liver.

▪ Revolution quickly spread from France to Italy.

▪ the risk of AIDS being spread through contaminated blood

2.) ¦(INFORMATION/IDEAS)¦

a)

to become known about or used by more and more people

▪ News of the explosion spread swiftly.

spread to/through/over etc

▪ Buddhism spread to China from India.

▪ The news spread like wildfire (=became known very quickly) .

▪ Word spread quickly and soon a crowd had gathered.

b) [T]

to tell a lot of people about something

spread lies/rumours/gossip

▪ Andy loves spreading rumours about his colleagues.

▪ They are spreading the word about the benefits of immunization.

3.) ¦(OPEN/ARRANGE)¦ [i]also spread out [T]

to open something out or arrange a group of things so that they cover a flat surface

spread sth over/across/on sth

▪ Papers and photos were spread across the floor.

▪ He spread the map out on the desk.

▪ a table spread with a white cloth

4.) ¦(THROUGHOUT AN AREA)¦

[i]also be spread

and spread out

to cover or exist across a large area

spread over

▪ the forest that spread over the whole of that region

spread throughout

▪ The company has more than 2500 shops spread throughout the UK.

5.) ¦(SOFT SUBSTANCE)¦ [I and T]

to put a soft substance over a surface or to be soft enough to be put over a surface

spread sth on/over sth

▪ He spread plaster on the walls.

spread sth with sth

▪ Spread the toast thinly with jam.

▪ If you warm up the butter it'll spread more easily.

▪ Spread the nut mixture evenly over the bottom.

6.) ¦(ARMS/FINGERS ETC)¦ [T]

if you spread your arms, fingers or legs, you move them far apart

▪ He shrugged and spread his hands.

7.) ¦(OVER TIME)¦ [T]

also spread out

to do something over a period of time, rather than at one time

spread sth over sth

▪ Could I spread the repayments over a longer period?

▪ There will be 12 concerts spread throughout the summer.

8.) ¦(SHARE)¦ [T]

to share or divide something among several people or things

spread the load/burden

▪ The bills are sent out on different dates to spread the workload on council staff.

▪ They want the country's wealth to be more evenly spread .

9.) ¦(SMILE/LOOK)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if an expression spreads over someone's face, it slowly appears on their face

spread over/across

▪ A slow smile spread over her face.

10.) spread your wings

a) to start to have an independent life and experience new things

▪ A year spent studying abroad should allow him to spread his wings a bit.

b) if a bird or insect spreads its wings, it stretches them wide

11.) a) be spread (too) thin/thinly

if money, effort etc is spread thin, it is being used for many things so there is not enough for each thing

▪ They complained that resources were spread too thinly.

b) spread yourself too thin

to try to do too many things at the same time so that you do not do any of them effectively

12.) spread seeds/manure/fertilizer

to scatter seeds, ↑manure etc on the ground

→spread your net wide at ↑net¹ (8)

spread out phr v

1.) if a group of people spread out, they move apart from each other so that they cover a wider area

▪ The search party spread out to search the surrounding fields.

2.) spread sth<=>out

to open something out or arrange a group of things on a flat surface

▪ Sue spread out her notes on the kitchen table and began to write.

3.) also be spread out

to cover a large area

▪ The city spread out below her looked so calm.

4.) spread sth<=>out

to do something over a period of time, rather than at one time

spread something<=>out over

▪ The course is spread out over four days.

spread ²

spread² n

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1¦(increase)¦

2¦(soft food)¦

3¦(range)¦

4¦(area)¦

5 double-page spread/centre spread

6¦(large meal)¦

7¦(hand/wings)¦

8¦(bed cover)¦

9¦(money)¦

10¦(sport)¦

11 spread of land/water

12¦(farm)¦

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1.) ¦(INCREASE)¦ [singular]

when something affects or is known about by more people or involves a larger area

→↑increase spread of

▪ an attempt to stop the spread of nuclear weapons

▪ the rapid spread of cholera in Latin America

2.) ¦(SOFT FOOD)¦ [U and C]

a) a soft substance made from vegetable oil that is used like butter

▪ one slice of toast with a low-fat spread

b) a soft food which you spread on bread

cheese/chocolate etc spread

3.) ¦(RANGE)¦ [singular]

a range of people or things

wide/broad/good spread of sth

▪ We have a good spread of ages in the department.

▪ a broad spread of investments

4.) ¦(AREA)¦ [singular]

the total area in which something exists

▪ the geographical spread of the company's hotels

5.) double-page spread/centre spread

a special article or advertisement in a newspaper or magazine, which covers two pages or covers the centre pages

▪ There's a double-page spread in Sunday's paper.

6.) ¦(LARGE MEAL)¦ [singular] informal

a large meal for several guests on a special occasion

▪ Chris's mum laid on a huge spread.

7.) ¦(HAND/WINGS)¦[U]

the area covered when the fingers of a hand, or a bird's wings, are fully stretched

8.) ¦(BED COVER)¦

a ↑bedspread

9.) ¦(MONEY)¦ technical

the difference between the prices at which something is bought and sold, or the ↑interest rates for lending and borrowing money

spread between

▪ the spread between the city banks' loan rates and deposit rates

10.)¦(SPORT)¦ [singular]

AmE the number of points between the scores of two opposing teams

▪ a four-point spread

11.) spread of land/water

an area of land or water

12.) ¦(FARM)¦ AmE

a large farm or ↑ranch

→middle-aged spread at ↑middle-aged