spread
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 →
2) To put a thin layer of something over a surface: "spread butter on toast". tree →
3) To move into more places or reach more people: "The fire spread." "Germs spread." tree →
4) To share out over time or space: "spread the work over a week". tree →
5) As a noun, a soft food you put on bread, or a big meal. tree →
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 →
- The fire spread to the trees. tree →
- Cover your mouth so germs don't spread. tree →
- Spread out so you have more space. tree →
- The news spread quickly. tree →
- The bird spread its wings. tree →
- Don't spread rumours. tree →
- Spread the payments over six months. tree →
- The confusion spread wider and wider. tree →
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.
- Cousins are the children of your aunts and uncles, and families spread out, so some cousins only meet at weddings and funerals.
- And who could get hurt if the story spreads?
- Bad-news gossip can feel caring but still spreads fear; offer help, not headlines.
- Death hoaxes about famous people spread fast because they are shocking; check a proper news site before believing or sharing one.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «spread» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.