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From Middle English spreden, from Old English sprǣdan ‎(to spread, expand), from Proto-Germanic *spraidijaną ‎(to spread), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- ‎(to strew, sow, sprinkle). Cognate with West Frisian spriede ‎(to spread), North Frisian spriedjen ‎(to spread), Dutch spreiden ‎(to spread), Low German spreden ‎(to spread), German spreiten ‎(to spread, spread out), Norwegian spre, spreie ‎(to spread, disseminate), Swedish sprida ‎(to spread), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω ‎(speírō), English spurn.



spread ‎(third-person singular simple present spreads, present participle spreading, simple past and past participle spread)

    He spread his newspaper on the table.
    I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home.
    I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor.
    • 2008, Wikipedia: Age of Enlightenment:
      The movement spread through much of Europe, including Russia and Scandinavia.
    The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
    He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
  9. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
    to spread a table
    • Tennyson
      Boiled the flesh, and spread the board.
    • 1984, Martin Amis, Money:
    • 1991, Tori Amos, Me and a Gun:


Derived terms[edit]




spread ‎(plural spreads)

  1. The act of spreading.
    • Francis Bacon
      No flower hath spread like that of the woodbine.
  2. Something that has been spread.
  3. An expanse of land.
    • Addison
      I have got a fine spread of improvable land.
  4. A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.
    • 2005, Brokeback Mountain, 00:11:50:
      - I’m savin’ for a place myself.
  5. A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).
  6. A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
  7. (bread, etc.) Any form of food designed to be spread such as butters or jams
  9. Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.
  10. A numerical difference.
  11. (business, economics) The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.
  16. (trading) The difference between bidding and asking price.
  17. (finance) The difference between the prices of two similar items.
  18. (geometry) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.
  19. The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.




Most common English words before 1923: expect · nation · legal · #965: spread · enter · consider · provided

External links[edit]