From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Stretch \Stretch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stretched; p. pr. & vb.
n. Stretching.] [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D.
strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. str[aum]cka, Dan.
straekke; cf. AS. straeck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack
straight; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to E. strong. Cf.
Straight.]
1. To reach out; to extend; to put forth.
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And stretch forth his neck long and small.
--Chaucer.
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I in conquest stretched mine arm. --Shak.
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2. To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a
straight line; as, to stretch a cord or rope.
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3. To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand; as,
to stretch cloth; to stretch the wings.
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4. To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
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The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain.
--Shak.
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5. To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain; as, to
stretch a tendon or muscle.
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Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve. --Doddridge.
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6. To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the
truth; to stretch one's credit.
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They take up, one day, the most violent and
stretched prerogative. --Burke.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Stretch \Stretch\, n.
1. Act of stretching, or state of being stretched; reach;
effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a
stretch of the imagination.
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By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain.
--Dryden.
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Those put a lawful authority upon the stretch, to
the abuse of yower, under the color of prerogative.
--L'Estrange.
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2. A continuous line or surface; a continuous space of time;
as, grassy stretches of land.
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A great stretch of cultivated country. --W. Black.
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But all of them left me a week at a stretch. --E.
Eggleston.
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3. The extent to which anything may be stretched.
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Quotations, in their utmost stretch, can signify no
more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of
mind. --Atterbury.
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This is the utmost stretch that nature can.
--Granville.
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4. (Naut.) The reach or extent of a vessel's progress on one
tack; a tack or board.
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5. Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal.
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To be on the stretch, to be obliged to use one's utmost
powers.
Home stretch. See under Home, a.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Stretch \Stretch\, v. i.
1. To be extended; to be drawn out in length or in breadth,
or both; to spread; to reach; as, the iron road stretches
across the continent; the lake stretches over fifty square
miles.
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As far as stretcheth any ground. --Gower.
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2. To extend or spread one's self, or one's limbs; as, the
lazy man yawns and stretches.
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3. To be extended, or to bear extension, without breaking, as
elastic or ductile substances.
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The inner membrane . . . because it would stretch
and yield, remained umbroken. --Boyle.
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4. To strain the truth; to exaggerate; as, a man apt to
stretch in his report of facts. [Obs. or Colloq.]
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5. (Naut.) To sail by the wind under press of canvas; as, the
ship stretched to the eastward. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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Stretch out, an order to rowers to extend themselves
forward in dipping the oar.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
stretch
adj 1: having an elongated seating area; "a stretch limousine"
2: easily stretched; "stretch hosiery"
n 1: a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of
highway"; "a stretch of clear water"
2: the act of physically reaching or thrusting out [syn:
reach, reaching, stretch]
3: a straightaway section of a racetrack
4: exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their
full extent [syn: stretch, stretching]
5: extension to or beyond the ordinary limit; "running at full
stretch"; "by no stretch of the imagination"; "beyond any
stretch of his understanding"
6: an unbroken period of time during which you do something;
"there were stretches of boredom"; "he did a stretch in the
federal penitentiary" [syn: stretch, stint]
7: the capacity for being stretched [syn: stretch,
stretchiness, stretchability]
v 1: occupy a large, elongated area; "The park stretched beneath
the train line" [syn: stretch, stretch along]
2: extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body; "Stretch
your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" [syn:
stretch, extend]
3: extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length;
"Unfold the newspaper"; "stretch out that piece of cloth";
"extend the TV antenna" [syn: unfold, stretch, {stretch
out}, extend]
4: become longer by being stretched and pulled; "The fabric
stretches" [ant: contract, shrink]
5: make long or longer by pulling and stretching; "stretch the
fabric" [syn: elongate, stretch]
6: lie down comfortably; "To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out
on the grass" [syn: stretch, stretch out]
7: pull in opposite directions; "During the Inquisition, the
torturers would stretch their victims on a rack"
8: extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly; "Stretch the
limits"; "stretch my patience"; "stretch the imagination"
9: corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or
inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients
with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn: load,
adulterate, stretch, dilute, debase]
10: increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance;
"stretch the soup by adding some more cream"; "extend the
casserole with a little rice" [syn: extend, stretch]
11: extend one's body or limbs; "Let's stretch for a minute--
we've been sitting here for over 3 hours" [syn: stretch,
stretch out]