Stretch — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

a wide space or area

"a narrow stretch of beach below the cliffs"

an indefinite but usually short period of time

"there was a cardinal at our bird feeder for a short stretch last spring"

the distance or extent between possible extremes

"the stories were written over a considerable stretch of time"

the space or amount of space between two points, lines, surfaces, or objects

"the longest stretch of the drive without any place to get gas"

to add to the interest of by including made-up details

"it was stretching the truth to say she'd been in the movies: she was once an extra whose scene was cut in the final version"

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure

"I stretched a back muscle, and the pain is killing me"

to make longer

"the time it would take to fix the car got stretched from three hours to two days when the part we needed had to be ordered"

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress

"your whining is stretching my patience to the limit"

to draw tight

"if the canvas isn't properly stretched over the frame, there will be sagging over time"

able to revert to original size and shape after being stretched, squeezed, or twisted

"stretch fabrics that don't wrinkle or sag"