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# spread

«spread» in Mova's school dictionary: **To open or stretch out something: "spread your arms"** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (spread, spreads, spread, spreading); noun (a spread, spreads)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To open or stretch out something: "spread your arms". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#m1)

2) To put a thin layer of something over a surface: "spread butter on toast". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#m2)

3) To move into more places or reach more people: "The fire spread." "Germs spread." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#m3)

4) To share out over time or space: "spread the work over a week". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#m4)

5) As a noun, a soft food you put on bread, or a big meal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In science and health: germs spread through coughs, sneezes and touch; fire spreads quickly. In everyday life: rumours spread — don't spread unkind stories. In maths, data "spread" means how far apart numbers are. Phrases: spread out, spread the word, spread germs, spread butter.

### examples

- Spread butter on your bread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x1)
- The fire spread to the trees. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x2)
- Cover your mouth so germs don't spread. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x3)
- Spread out so you have more space. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x4)
- The news spread quickly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x5)
- The bird spread its wings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x6)
- Don't spread rumours. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x7)
- Spread the payments over six months. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x8)
- The confusion spread wider and wider. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/#x9)

### note

Past and past participle are both "spread". In maths, spreading a total over equal parts means dividing: "$60 spread over 6 weeks" = $10 a week.

### In the corpora

- [Some people go to work ill because they can't afford to lose the pay, which spreads germs to everyone else.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/12/)
- [Cousins are the children of your aunts and uncles, and families spread out, so some cousins only meet at weddings and funerals.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/17-gran-cousins-and-the-whole-family/12/)
- [And who could get hurt if the story spreads?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/41-our-street-who-parked-where-and-who-won-what/7/)
- [Bad-news gossip can feel caring but still spreads fear; offer help, not headlines.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/42-our-street-feuds-newcomers-and-stories-that-grow/20/)
- [Death hoaxes about famous people spread fast because they are shocking; check a proper news site before believing or sharing one.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/46-tabloids-sources-close-to-and-the-photo/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «spread» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/spread/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.